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AFP
Sylmar
Kuba the tiger paces in his cage, pawing at the metal floor and growling. He's in a bad mood. A huge wildfire in suburban Los Angeles forced his evacuation Friday from Wildlife Waystation, an animal reserve. It was only the second time in 50 years that this had happened.
Now, under a gruelling sun, Kuba and the other critters were headed home.
"You have to stay behind the fence. Kuba got too hot. He's not so happy about what's going on," warns Martine Colette, founder of the reserve tucked away in the mountains of Angeles National Park, about 45 minute drive from Los Angeles.
It is home to hundreds of wild animals: big cats, monkeys, bears, exotic birds, wolves, zebras and more.
The so-called Sand fire scorched 150 square kilometres of forest and brush, killed one person and destroyed 18 buildings including some on a ranch that served as sets for movies and TV shows. The return home to the animal refuge unfolded Wednesday.
Each cage was hoisted off a truck by around six people, then taken on a cart towards the animal's enclosure, where they were released. Some needed a nudge.
Nearby, bears lounge around in their cages, monkeys swing and parrots squawk. A lion named Ibsik watches stoically from a wooden perch.
The fire not only forced the evacuation of some 20,000 people in this rural region some 50 kilometres from Los Angeles but also that of hundreds of animals: horses and cattle from many ranches, and wild animals from reserves and companies that provide them for shooting movies in Hollywood.
According to the trainers, the animals are wary, smelling their way into the situation, and they get a little uncomfortable. But then they settle down and they're OK. Animals are very philosophical.
The hurried departure cost Colette at least $100,000.
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29/07/2016
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