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Mountain Lion Freed After 20 Years Spent Living In Chains In A Pickup Truck

By Tara Dodrill
Published on: 03:10 PST, Nov 21, 2015

A mountain lion freed after 20 years spent in chains has garnered international headlines and an outpouring of support by animal lovers and activists around the globe. Mufasa sat patiently under a blanket of heavy chains as wildlife officials worked to cut him free from his small home in the back of an old pickup truck.

The mountain lion chained in the pickup truck for 20 years was found in an unidentified area of norther Peru, according to the Huffington Post. Once released from the heavy and restrictive harness, Mufasa stretched his legs and body both fully and freely for the first time in nearly two decades.

The rescue of the mountain lion chained for 20 years was captured on camera by the Animal Defenders International – ADI. The group played a lead role in freeing the chained lion. The rescue effort occurred in April, but the video footage was not made public until Thursday.

The ADI activists, police agents, and local wildlife officials raided the traveling circus in Peru after betting a tip about the illegal wild animals used in its shows. An 8-hour standoff began after the raid, according to the Animal Defenders International organization officials. Mufasa, who is believed to have been captured from the wild as a cub, was ultimately handed over to wildlife officers.

The mountain lion was then transported to the ADI Spirit of Freedom rescue center near Lima for rehabilitation. Mufasa was given a clean bill of health and made a three-day trip to the Tambopata reserve in the Amazon rainforest. The freed mountain lion is now expected to spend the rest of his life in the protected habitat.

ADI President Jan Creamer, who helped head the rescue effort, said it was “heartbreaking” to see Mufasa in chains, and called witnessing the moment he was freed was “wonderful.”

“It was magical to see him moving about in and out of the trees in his own piece of protected forest,” she said in a statement posted to ADI’s website. “A heavy harness and chains were wrapped around his body and as we cut them away, he stretched, free, for the first time.”

An excerpt from the ADI mountain lion rescue report states the following.

“Our work on this issue in Peru and Colombia began back in 2007, when ADI launched its Stop Circus Suffering campaign across Latin America. The evidence from our two-year undercover investigation of animal circuses caused a public outcry and calls for action across the continent. Bolivia responded first, banning all animals in travelling circuses, followed by Peru, Ecuador, Paraguay, Colombia, El Salvador, Panama, Costa Rica and Mexico who all introduced wild animal bans.”

Animal Defenders International is currently involved in its biggest animal rescue ever in an effort to aid authorities in Peru and Colombia to implement legislation to bring to an end the use of captive wild animals in circuses. According to the ADI website, approximately 100 captive animals who have all suffered greatly at the hands of circus operators.

During our Operation Lion Ark rescue mission, the ADI organization helped Bolivia enforce its captive wild animal legislation. Agents swooped down on illegal circuses and rescued all the animals being held. Over the course of the past year, the group’s rescue team traveled all around Peru to hunt down the circuses. They also constructed a temporary rescue center and jungle habitats for a bear named Cholita, Mufasa, some monkeys and other native wild animals.

[Image via Shutterstock.com]

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