I’m really fond of animals, yet I can firmly state that it’s just not right to keep a fully grown mountain lion locked up in the back of a pickup truck.
But that’s exactly where Mufasa, a mountain lion, had to stay. His life turned out to be terribly tough when he worked as a performer in a traveling circus in Peru. All he did was to entertain the audience and earn money for his owner.
Thankfully, some animal-loving people came to his rescue.
Even nowadays, many animals are still being abused and neglected in zoos, circuses and other entertainment places. Although the situations of quite a number of animals have improved recently, there’s still more work that needs to be done. That’s because lots of animals in need are still made to live in cramped spaces and aren’t given the opportunity to have fulfilling lives.
In Peru, a vehicle was discovered with a mountain lion named Mufasa tied to it. He was forced into a life that he didn’t want or deserve, and he had lived there for twenty years.
Fortunately, Mufasa had some good luck in his later years. After months of hard work, Animal Defenders International, an organization that’s dedicated to animal rights, managed to set him free in 2015. They came across him when they were trying to shut down an entire Peruvian circus.
After gaining freedom, Mufasa’s health got better. He was given the basic right that all wild animals should have, which was to spend his remaining years in nature and live according to his own wishes, instead of enduring a life full of fear and mistreatment.
The story of Mufasa’s rescue is really moving, and the video below records his early steps towards independence. It’s really wonderful!
After escaping from the circus, Mufasa had a short period of independence until his health began to decline. Having been tied to the back of a vehicle for twenty years had taken its toll, leading to kidney failure and other health issues related to old age. According to Animal Defenders International, he passed away in 2015.
However, his story still draws attention to an important issue.
Mufasa was a lovely and gentle animal who liked having his back scratched. It’s sad that he couldn’t spend more time in his native Amazon environment, but it would have been even sadder if he had never experienced freedom at all.