A coyote used as part of witchcraft rituals and ill-treated lions were among former zoo and circus animals airlifted from Mexico to a wildlife sanctuary in Colorado on Wednesday as part of an international rescue operation.
The latest consignment of wild animals comprised eight lions, two lynxes, a puma and the coyote, all of them rescued in raids over the past three years on private homes, circuses or zoos that had mistreated them. Nine rescued tigers will also be given a new home at The Wild Animal Sanctuary, near Denver, soon.
The coyote, named Cancan, and the other animals were cared for at the Pachuca Biopark, in the central Mexican state of Hidalgo, before being loaded on to aircraft dispatched by the Mexican navy — the first time that it has been involved in a rescue flight.
The Wild Animal Sanctuary boasts 720 acres of rolling grassland and is home to more than 400 rescued lions, tigers, bears, wolves and other animals — among them Cholita, a horribly abused Peruvian spectacled bear whose rescue made headlines in May.
Groups such as Animal Defenders International have lobbied Latin American countries to take action against circus animal abuse. Many have since banned exotic animal performances.