LOS ANGELES (AP) – About a dozen lions, tigers, cougars and other big cats came home to a sanctuary north of Los Angeles days after they were evacuated in the teeth of an advancing wildfire.
Ten to 15 big cats, along with some hyenas and raccoons, returned Wednesday to the Wildlife Waystation in the Sylmar area from another animal facility, spokesman Jerry Brown said.
A crowd of staff members carefully took a large cage holding an orange-and-black Bengal tiger off a truck and rolled it to a barred enclosure, where the feline was released.
Martine Colette, the 74-year-old founder of the sanctuary, watched carefully as the cats returned.
“Every one of them is something in my life and is special in my life,” she added.