Meet Just a hand full of animals and see their heart breaking stories

.
"Lacara" is a Black Leopard.  She was rescued from a private owner in Texas who was forced to give her up due to new laws banning exotics.  

Lacara is the perfect example of a victim of human ignorance.  Her owner weaned her at 3 weeks, and then fed her raw chicken from the grocery store, with no supplements added.  As a result, she has a severe calcium deficiency and suffers from a metabolic bone disease.  A trip to the vet shortly after she arrived revealed 7 fractures in all four limbs, a pelvis fracture and a spinal fracture.  We are doing our best to help Lacara get well, but she has a long road ahead of her.  We are depending on her tough spirit and your help to take care of her. UPDATE: Lacara is doing well. Although she will never be a normal black leopard, she has grown into a feisty adult!
"Moo" as he is affectionately called by  park volunteers, is a young male African Lion.  Mufasa came to us from Arkansas, where he belonged to an individual who kept him in a wooden gazebo and who used a BB gun to control him. We dug 172 pellets out of his hide when we rescued him.  He was considerably underweight because the previous owner said she could not afford to feed him.  

We have worked with Mufasa to the point where he is reasonably tame...except at feeding time.  That is when we are reminded of just how powerful a creature he is!
Lyra, Tesh and Franc are Siberian Brown Bears, illegally brought into this country and into the state of Oklahoma.  They were discovered by McClain County Sheriff's Deputies while on a domestic disturbance call in South Oklahoma.  All three were locked in cages, in 100+ degree heat, in the back of a moving van with no food or water. All three were severely malnourished and dehydrated.  Their owner, a Russian immigrant, faces animal cruelty charges.  He was sentenced to "time served" and community service.  See our press page for more details on Franc, Tesh and Lyra's rescue.  UPDATE: right, the bears are now happy and healthy!
Popeye and Olive arrived when they were just 6 months old, and they were very sick little lion cubs.  Both came from a petting zoo near Tulsa, and these baby African Lions had both "exhausted their usefulness" as cuddly creatures for profit.  Both had gangrene on their tails, scars on their heads, they suffered from a body fungus and they were covered in ticks. Olive's teeth had been cut out and half of her back foot had been cut off.  Olive and Popeye had surgery shortly after arriving at the park, and both continue to improve. UPDATE: Popeye has grown into a right handsome young man, right.
This beautiful, rare cat suffered greatly prior to his rescue. Baghera, a black leopard, was confiscated by the Carter County sheriff’s office from an individual in Ardmore, Oklahoma. He and his mate, a female leopard, had been abandoned and left to starve to death. Sadly, the female died. Baghera consumed her remains in order to survive. 

Upon rescue, we found no food or water, and the wooden house Baghera had slept in was half eaten from starvation. His make-shift pen had a concrete floor, causing the pads of his feet to become bloody and peel off. Although Baghera has calmed down considerably since coming to the park, he will remain traumatized for life due to his near-death experience. He continues to treat every meal as if it were his last.