# @usfws on Instagram

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DdZmY-rhVRp
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/70665208-usfws-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/ff950c5ddf.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-09-17T19:30:26.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (@usfws) — https://gondola.cc/usfws

## Caption

PSA: If you see any facility allowing visitors to touch or feed big cats, report it right away. Public contact with big cats is prohibited under the Big Cat Public Safety Act and facilities offering these interactions are putting both people and animals at risk.
 
A new chapter for 30 rescued big cats.

After years of living in inadequate conditions at the former Zoo Luján in Argentina, 30 lions and tigers have found new homes in sanctuaries where their welfare will come first. Zoo Luján had allowed visitors to handle, pose and even sit on the backs of the cats, a practice placing the lives and safety of both humans and animals under threat.

USFWS wildlife inspectors were first on the ground when eight tigers and seven lions arrived at Denver International Airport on August 18th, tasked with ensuring that the animals had received safe and humane transport and that all animals arrived with appropriate documentation. Their expertise played a vital role in making this largescale effort a success.

The fifteen big cats are settling into their new home at The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado where they can receive specialized care and, where possible, stay with their established social groups. The remaining nine tigers and six lions were transported from Argentina to Lionsrock Big Cat Sanctuary in South Africa.

These moves mark the first opportunity for many of the animals to experience open, natural environments after years of confinement. Their transition is being closely monitored as they acclimate to surroundings designed to meet their behavioral and welfare needs.

We’re grateful of our partners at The Wild Animal Sanctuary and Four Paws for their work in rehoming these big cats.

Footage: Taliah Farnsworth/USFWS. Reel: Rebecca Fabbri/USFWS.

Visual description: opening scene - closeup of a tiger’s face while in a shipping container, followed by a wildlife inspector inspecting the shipment, followed by a scene of a lion’s eye peeping out of a shipping container, followed by a tiger resting, followed by a wildlife inspector watching the big cat shipment about to head off to their new home & closes with a lion blinking at the camera. #bigcatrescue #ti

## Stats

- **Views:** 38,807
- **Likes:** 2,396
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 12

## Tags

bigcatrescue, ti

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