MEXICO CITY — A malnourished lion cub named Leonardo was sent by Mexican officials Tuesday on a flight to an animal sanctuary in Colorado, the first in what is to be a transfer of two dozen big cats and other animals.
Leonardo was rescued from a private owner who had prematurely separated him from his mother so he could be given as a gift to a young girl.
All of the animals are being sent over the course of this year to The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg by Mexico’s attorney general’s office for environmental protection. They will include a total of six lions, eight tigers, two leopards, a jaguar, a lynx and a puma.
Two spider monkeys, a bear, a coyote and a peccary will also be taken to the Colorado sanctuary.
Most were mistreated, crowded or abandoned by their owners in Mexico.
Mexico recently passed laws forbidding animal acts in circuses.
