The circus lion was locked up for twenty years. Now watch how he reacts when he gets out.

No matter how much I love animals, I know for sure that a full-grown mountain lion has no business being chained up in the back of a pickup truck.

On the other hand, a mountain lion named Mufasa had to live there.

He was in a traveling circus in Peru, and his owner made his life a living hell so that people could have fun and the owner could make money.

Lucky for him, some animal lovers helped him…

In circuses, zoos, and shows, many animals are still abused and not cared for. Things have gotten better for many animals in the last few years, but we still have a long way to go.

Because there are still a lot of poor animals that have to live in small spaces and don’t get to live the lives they deserve.

In Peru, the mountain lion Mufasa was found tied to the bed of a pickup truck. He had been stuck there for 20 years, living a life he didn’t want or deserve.

Mufasa got lucky late in life, which was a good thing. After months of hard work, the animal rights group Animal Defenders International was able to get him freed in 2015. The group found him while they were trying to shut down a whole circus in Peru.

The fact that Mufasa was free made a big difference in his health. He wasn’t forced to live a life of stress and pain; instead, he was given the basic right that all wild animals have: to spend his last years in the wild, living on his own terms.

The story of how Mufasa was saved is beautiful, and the video below shows his first step toward freedom. It’s really lovely!

It took a few months for Mufasa’s health to start getting worse after he was freed from the circus.

It was hard to be tied to the back of a pick-up truck for 20 years. He had kidney failure and other problems that come with getting older. Based on Animal Defenders International, he died in 2015.

He told a story that shed light on an important issue, though.

Animals like Mufasa were beautiful and gentle, and they loved getting scratches back. And while it’s sad that he couldn’t spend more time in the Amazon, where he belongs, it would have been even worse if he had never been free at all.

Mustafa was treated badly, and no animal should be treated that way. Share this video to show that you care about animals too!