Watching the circus as kids always astounded us, watching the pretty animals playing tricks, jumping through hoops, and just doing their own thing on-stage. Some of us have probably dreamt of being beside those animals. However, as we grew up, we began to realize how inhumane some circuses are.
The circus is not a happy place for animals.
The circus earns by bringing smiles towards their customers. Sadly, behind the circus tents, animals are suffering from abuse from their handlers as they are taught to perform new tricks.
Animal Defenders Incorporated (ADI), an international campaigning group that protects animals from any kind of abuse, stepped up to get the animals out of the circus with one of their global campaigns called Stop Circus Suffering.
They are not alone too, as smaller advocacy and rescue groups willingly lent them their aid in order to stop the inhumane operations of animal circuses.
This time, ADI visited a certain circus in Guatemala
They received reports about nine tigers and two lions being confined in the circus, and their mission was to free them from there.
Jan and Tim, the president and the vice-president of ADI, went along with the rest of the crew to see the animals for themselves. Upon arriving, they saw the horrid state of the animals, and they couldn’t even begin to express their disbelief after seeing the lions, Tarzan and Tanya.
Tanya and Tarzan were locked up in a small cage for most of their lives. ADI knew that these animals have gone through enough suffering and were determined to free them from it. They first inspected the male lion, Tarzan, and they noticed that his lower lip was hanging. It seemed that the injury was after Tarzan fought one of the tigers. Luckily, the brave lioness Tanya was there to defend him.
“Tanya’s quite tiny but she fought her heart out,” Jan told The Dodo.
ADI helps their rescue animals get healthy before transferring them to a bigger home.
ADI, with no hesitation, decided to bring the giant felines to one of their enclosures. They knew it would be better to let them stay there temporarily, as it has enough space for the cats to roam around and recover from the tight clutches of the circus.
They released Tarzan and Tanya first, but Tarzan seemed wary about the new place he was placed in. He was hesitant to step in even though the space was big enough for him.
It took him some time to adjust, but it was not for long until they finally got used to the new place. Tarzan also has no worries since Tanya was always there to protect him.
ADI managed to check Tarzan’s jaw, and they did what they could to treat it before it could get worse.
Weeks later, you can see how Tanya and Tarzan are beginning to get used to their new place. It seemed like they knew that they don’t have to go back to their old life again and happily played like kittens without worries.
Their journey is not yet over
Tarzan and Tanya, as well as the tigers, weren’t home just yet.
After a few more weeks, ADI decided to transfer them permanently to their sanctuary in South Africa. It would be quite a long journey for them as they had to go through four stops before reaching the destination via airplane.
Finally, a place where the animals could spend the rest of their lives in peace.
The ADI staff managed to get the cats to safety in their new home. The sanctuary’s space is much wider than before and they are sure that the animals are going to love it. As for Tarzan and Tanya, there is no need to worry, as they have each other’s back no matter where they go.
Thanks to ADI, Tarzan and Tanya now have a wonderful place to call home.
To learn more about these lions, check out the video below!
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