Hundreds of animals flee cartel chaos, violence after wildlife refuge faced with threats

Not even wild animals are safe from Mexico s cartel violence Tigers elephants lions and monkeys were evacuated this week from a wildlife refuge in Culiac n Sinaloa a city overrun by cartel gunmen The animals selected of which were once kept as pets by drug lords were moved to another facility after staff faced threats and gunfire a total collapse of law and order The Associated Press reports that the Ostok Sanctuary which housed over animals was forced to pack up and flee after months of violence and intimidation from rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel WEALTHY SUBURB ROCKED BY SUSPECTED CARTEL MURDER-FOR-HIRE SHOWS DRUG LORDS' REACH ACROSS US EXPERTSome animals went days without food Others began shedding fur from stress Two big cats died We ve never seen violence this extreme sanctuary Director Ernesto Zazueta explained the AP This is what happens when cartels run the show and the establishment initiatives aside For years Culiac n was under firm control of the Sinaloa Cartel one of the world s majority of powerful drug trafficking organizations That order shattered when a son of El Chapo Guzm n kidnapped a rival cartel leader and handed him over to U S bureaucrats MEXICO OFFERS PROTECTION TO FAMED SINGER AFTER DRUG CARTEL DEATH THREATSNow the cartels are fighting each other for turf And civilians including children and families are paying the price Safety analyst David Saucedo described the AP that the two warring factions are extorting kidnapping and robbing to fund their war Roads are blocked Shootings happen almost daily Parents check the news each morning to see if it s safe to send their kids to school When night falls the streets go dark Bars close Businesses shut down The police Mostly absent The animal refuge sat near Jes s Mar a a stronghold of the Chapitos a faction run by El Chapo s sons That made it a dangerous place to operate According to the UK s Mirror exotic animals were being caught in the crossfire Tigers lions even elephants were showing signs of trauma from hearing gunfire and helicopters nearby Several of the animals were once owned by cartel bosses One tiger was revealed chained in a plaza during a shootout Locals whisper that drug lords feed enemies to their pet lions a disturbing rumor that reflects just how broken things are Staff say they received threats to burn down the sanctuary and kill the animals unless payments were made There s no safe place left in this city these days rescuer Diego Garc a narrated the AP After months of pleading for help the sanctuary got nothing from the leadership Not a single authority stepped in to protect the animals or the workers The last straw came when one of the sanctuary s elephants Bireki injured her foot No vet in Mexico or even the U S was willing to trip to cartel territory to treat her We demanded ourselves What are we doing here Zazueta communicated the AP If we don t leave who will treat them That led to the quiet decision to evacuate not just the elephant but every animal on site Trucks with white flags were loaded with sedated tigers lions jaguars and elephants Certain workers whispered calmly to the animals trying to ease their stress The convoy rolled out of Culiac n past masked cartel lookouts on motorbikes and into Mazatl n CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPIt took months of training and planning But the animals made it For now Sanctuary staff are praying that Mazatl n will be a true refuge But they know cartel violence has spread like a complaint And the fear is that it could follow them The Associated Press contributed to this overview