Thirty lions and tigers that spent years in cramped concrete enclosures at a shuttered zoo outside Buenos Aires have begun a journey to new homes on two continents, in what the animal-welfare group Four Paws calls one of the largest relocations of captive big cats ever undertaken.
The cats come from the former Lujan Zoo, about 70 kilometers northwest of the Argentine capital, once notorious for letting paying visitors pose for photos while handling tiger and lion cubs. Authorities shut the facility in 2020 over safety and welfare concerns, but the roughly 200 big cats housed there at closure have taken years to relocate. Four Paws has managed the site since 2023, when 112 animals remained; that number had fallen to 62 within two years, through transfers and natural attrition.
Two Sanctuaries, One Long Flight
Nine tigers and six lions are headed to Lionsrock, a Four Paws sanctuary in South Africa spanning 60 hectares that already houses more than 80 big cats in naturalistic enclosures. The remaining eight tigers and seven lions will travel to the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado, on a route that passes through Chile before continuing north; cats bound for South Africa will fly instead through European hubs including Frankfurt and Amsterdam.
Four Paws program director Luciana D'Abramo said the operation, involving jumbo-size transport crates and coordination across multiple governments, has been years in the planning.
We are putting everything into making this go as smoothly as possible so we can celebrate that 30 lives have improved because of this effort.
Luciana D'Abramo, program director, Four Paws
Veterinarians examining the animals before transport found widespread obesity, muscle loss and poor nutrition, along with dental and kidney disease and complications from declawing performed so visitors could safely touch the cats as cubs. More than 20 lions and tigers remain at the Lujan site while the organization, detailed further by outlets covering the transfer, continues searching for permanent placements — meaning this departure marks a milestone rather than a conclusion to a rescue stretched across half a decade.