Many nations have passed laws prohibiting the use of wild animals in circuses. Many circuses, however, appear to be blinded by profit and continue to enslave these creatures.
Mufasa, the mountain lion, has been through all of this in the last 20 years.
Mufasa was rescued from a Peruvian circus that was operating illegally. He’s been dragged from town to hamlet for the past 20 years and forced to perform.
Until Animal Defenders International (ADI) came to liberate him, the unfortunate animal had never tasted freedom.
Operation Spirit of Freedom, a year-long assault on unlicensed circuses, is being carried out by ADI. Mufasa was ultimately let free after an eight-hour standoff with his owner, thanks to their unwavering devotion.
Mufasa was in bad shape when he was rescued. Among the other equipment, he was imprisoned on the back of a truck. He didn’t even have the security of a cage.
“Seeing Mufasa tethered among the circus equipment and living on the back of a pickup truck was devastating.
He was bound by a hefty harness and shackles, and when we ripped them away, he extended for the first time, free.” Animal Defenders International (ADI) president Jan Creamer stated in a statement.
His bodily health, however, was not the only thing that was harmed. When the rescuers set him free, he was apprehensive and afraid of humans, according to the rescuers.
Apparently, 20 years of being chained has had a negative impact on his mental health. Mufasa was rescued and sent to ADI’s Spirit of Freedom rescue facility in Lima, Peru, where he was treated for both his body and psyche.
Despite his superb health, he was not allowed to be released back into the wild. As a result, he was relocated to Taricaya Ecological Reserve by the rescuers.
There, he will be housed in a unique enclosure in the Amazon jungle. Mufasa may finally live out his days in a manner that is as similar to his original state as possible.
Mufasa was not the first nor the last animal to be saved. ADI plans to keep working to release illegal circus animals and return them to their natural home.
You can watch a video of the rescue below.