This old lioness had never felt grass beneath her feet for the majority of her life. Instead, she and a few other large cats walked solely on the ground. Home for these large, stunning cats was an unpleasant drive-through zoo in Oklahoma. This has to have been a truly horrible place.
Several safety and welfare breaches led to the USDA closing the zoo in 2008, according to a press statement from the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge. Based in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, the refuge.
Over the years, a “family member” fed and provided water for the cats, but Emily McCormack, the organization’s animal curator, described the cats’ living conditions as “unbelievable.” It is reported that this pitiful “zoo” was formerly owned.
Working together was the refuge, the Oakland Zoo, and another organisation called Lions, Tigers & Bears, who operate a sanctuary near Alpine, California. In the middle of June, many of the cats—two tigers and a tiger hybrid—would experience a significant change—a cross-country journey to secure, roomy new residences across the nation, where they would get first-rate care.
The arthritic, aged lioness is too vulnerable to make a long trek. While the tiger hybrid, who has bowed legs and a facial wound, moved to the Oakland Zoo, she has a new home in Turpentine Creek. While the other travelled to Lions, Tigers & Bears, one of the tigers also visited the Oakland Zoo.
