KEENESBURG, Colo. — Earlier this month, the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg rescued a lion and tiger from a typhoon-stricken zoo in Saipan.
Samaritan’s Purse, a North Carolina-based charity, organized the rescue of an adult lion and tiger from the Pacific Ocean island of Saipan.
The charity had been airlifting relief supplies to the island after Typhoon Yutu in 2015 when the Federal Emergency Management Agency and U.S. officials asked for its help removing the big cats from a badly damaged roadside zoo. The zoo had closed to the public after the typhoon and the local family that owned it had continued to care for the animals, but were running out of resources.
Samaritan’s Purse moved Lambert, a male African lion, and Tasha, a female Siberian tiger, on the organization’s DC-8 aircraft to Denver on Dec. 5 and then they were transferred to Keenesburg, where they will spend the rest of their days at the sanctuary. Both are about 60 percent underweight, according to Samaritan's Purse.
The rescue was made possible by Tigers in America, which helped with coordination and purchased food and veterinary care for the animals, and the Wild Animal Sanctuary, which rushed equipment and personnel to Saipan to help manage the transport.
PETA is sending Samaritan’s Purse a framed Compassionate Action Award certificate for its efforts.
