Mountain lion was chained up for 20 years. But after much suffering, he was finally released

Several people consider that the circuses that have animals and train them for their acts should be closed. The Peruvian government is an example of it.

A couple of years ago, they banned circuses from keeping wild animals locked. While most people released the animals, others secretly kept them and continued to use them to entertain others.

That’s the case of Mufasa, a mountain lion that traveled with a circus chained to a truck for more than 20 years. Thankfully for Mufasa and the rest of wild animals who were used by Peruvian circuses, the Animal Defenders International did something for them.

They tracked down each animal that was being kept illegally and rescued them. Mufasa was the last one, according to Shareably, in a very intense chasing.

The incident was so dramatic that the ADI had to call the police to help corner the circus and set Mufasa free. Soon after that, they took him to the Peruvian forest so he could live as he should.

After being kept for more than 20 years out of the forest, his shape and condition made almost impossible the idea of just releasing him in the wild. ADI realized that the best thing to do was to put him in a custom enclosure at a sanctuary in the forest.

The life in the circus caused him severe damage to his health. Not only his muscles were not as developed as they should but also his kidneys were not working properly and he had some other age-related issues.

ADI staff always kept an eye on him as their goal was to make him feel as good as possible in the most natural habitat they could have provided. In December 2015, a couple of months after he was freed, Mufasa passed away.

Even though he didn’t have the chance to enjoy the freedom at its best for a long time, ADI did their best to make him experience it at least for a while.