Meet Jupiter, a beloved Lion from Colombia that became famous while living at Refúgio Villa Lorena.
Villa Lorena is an animal refuge like no other.
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Ana Julia Torres cares for four lions, 9 Bengal tigers, jaguars, cougars, a crocodile, a speckled bear, and an ostrich.
There is also a chimpanzee called Jocko, spider monkeys and hundreds of brightly colored birds.
One point they all share– they have actually been abused, says Ana Julia.
Reports state that the lion which weighed around 47st when it was transferred has currently lost more than 31st
” They’re lame, or have lost arm or legs; they’re blind, or can’t concentrate, or have actually lost an eye,” she says.
” I have 2 human kids, and the rest of my kids are 800 animals– some clawed and some extremely hairy, however all of them fantastic,” Torres says. There are around 800 animals at the refuge, however Jupiter the lion was Ana’s favorite.
She saved Jupiter from the circus, where he was often abused and had his claws eliminated.
Understandingly, Jupiter lost trust in people and also created a phobia of human contact.
When he was taken care of by Anna Julia, this phobia totally changed.
But the healthy lion was moved to the Los Caimanes zoo in the city of Monteria.
Authorities eliminated Jupiter from Anna Julia’s treatment because of her reported lack of documents to keep the lion.
Unfortunately, Jupiter quickly dropped weight while at the zoo and became very unwell.
An emaciated lion that was saved from abuse in a circus is now so weak it can no longer stand after losing over half its body weight in a zoo
In a bid to rescue Jupiter’s life, he was transported to an area better to Ana Julia.
Jupiter had been living in an animal sanctuary in Cali, Colombia after being saved from a life of circus exploitation where it had its claws removed
He went to obtain therapy in Cali zoo, where vets worked all the time to care for him.
The vets identified that he was struggling with terminal liver cancer and anemia. He had the ability to see his precious Ana Julia one last time.
Jupiter’s previous carer at the sanctuary Ana Julia Torres (pictured) says he currently has kidney and live damages and is so thin she ‘could not recognise him’
Ana Julia Torres said: ‘He weighs 90 kilogrammes, he can not stand or move, he is thin, and he has his kidneys and his liver damaged, I could not identify him’
Jupiter lost his fight against liver cancer and sadly died in 2020, but his memory lives on.
