An unmarked wooden box, only 16 inches tall, was left unattended at the Beirut airport in Lebanon. Finally, after 7 days some workers decided to open it up.
Inside, they were shocked to find three endangered Siberian tiger cubs crammed into a tiny space. They were covered in feces and urine and were starved. They were just 4 months old and infested with hundreds of maggots.
"Nothing indicated that the box contained tigers or even live animals, and there were no details of a shipper or receiver," rescue group Animals Lebanon (AL) wrote.
The cubs were being transferred from a zoo in Ukraine to a zoo in Syria but had gotten delayed. AL decided to petition a judge, allowing the animals to be released into their care. The judge realized the cubs would ultimately die if they were left in such bad conditions, so he put them in the care of the rescue group.
"The tigers did not have names," Jason Mier, executive directior of AL said. "[They] were instead referred to by a code." So Mier and his team named the cubs after people who have helped animals through his organization. "May is the most confident female and the first to eat and explore new enrichment items," he said. "Tania follows May to look at new things; she seems like May's sidekick."
Now, all three tiger cubs are recovering from their journey and playing with all the toys they can imagine.
"Their paw pads were raw and red from being covered in urine, as were their back legs and thighs," AL wrote. "They had not received the proper vaccinations so all three were vaccinated. Only one tiger was found to have a microchip, though documents state that all three should have been microchipped."
Unfortunately for these tiger cubs, are not out of danger yet. They are still trying to have the tigers confiscated from the zoo permanently, so there is a chance these poor guys will end up in bad conditions.
"Big cats can be worth tens of thousands of dollars on the black market. The owner is fighting to get them back," AL wrote. "And we are fighting for the tigers."
*There has been an update. The three tiger cubs that were smuggled through Lebanon last March have now been moved to a bigger enclosure ðŸ˜
To help AL stand up for animals like these tiger cubs, you can make a donation to them directly.
Sadly, the smuggling of exotic animals has become a status symbol - if you're not afraid of breaking the law.
Another trio of rare animals became famous when they were rescued from the home of a drug dealer. The kingpin had been keeping a pet lion, tiger and bear locked up in a basement for years.
They were taken to Noah's Ark Animal Sanctuary were their rescuers realized something unique about the animals: they were friends.
At first the sanctuary tried to separate them, fearing their instincts would take over and lead to fighting, but after seeing how dejected they became they reunited them.
Baloo the bear, Leo the Lion and Shere Khan the tiger have been viewed millions of times on the internet now and are undeniably happier than they were. Sadly Leo passed away earlier this year.
If you are interested in learning more about the efforts made to rescue big cats, I'd love to introduce you to one of my favorite sites, Big Cat Rescue. I have learned a lot about these beautiful beasts and they have some amazing live cams.