Sanctuary rescues lion, tiger from Saipan

KEENESBURG — Lambert the lion and Tasha Joy the tiger, the last wild animals at the former Saipan Zoo, left the island on Wednesday evening and were relocated to the Wild Animal Sanctuary near Keenesburg.

Zoo owner Frank Aldan said he had been looking for a new home for the two 15-year old animals since the zoo was destroyed by Typhoon Soudelor in August of 2015. The zoo has been closed since then. “What was left of the zoo was not fit for animals like them,” he said.

After an exchange of communications with the nonprofit sanctuary staff, Aldan said he decided to send the lion and the tiger to Colorado.

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Samaritan’s Purse, which has its own DC-8 cargo plane, offered to transport the animals to the wildlife sanctuary.

An evangelical Christian humanitarian organization, Samaritan’s Purse brought relief supplies to Saipan and Tinian after the islands were hit by Typhoon Yutu.

“It breaks my heart to see them leave, but I know they will go to a place where they can socialize with their own kind,” Aldan said in a phone interview, referring to Lambert and Tasha Joy.

“It is good that they can be in a sanctuary. Colorado’s one of the largest in the U.S.,” he said.

Aldan acquired the lion and the tiger from the Southern Comfort Ranch on Guam. The animals were 2 years old when the ranch was shut down.

Staff members from The Wild Animal Sanctuary traveled six days and 13,000 miles in order to rescue the big cats.

Casey Craig, chief operations officer for the sanctuary, reported that the tiger and lion were severely malnourished but now will be able to recover with proper nutrition and medical care.

“A bear and leopard had already perished at the zoo, so we were very grateful for this opportunity,” Craig said.

The Wild Animal Sanctuary, a 789 acre refuge, specializes in rehabilitating large carnivores and providing them with large acreage habitats to live in.

Lions and tigers can live up to 23 years in captivity.