The transported species, which also included exotic birds, had been housed at the Ostok animal refuge near Culiacan, the capital of Sinaloa state, home to one of the country's most powerful drug gangs.
“We are leaving because we run the risk of something happening to me and my team,“ said Ernesto Zazueta, the director of the refuge.
“This caravan of animals is a kind of 21st-century Noah's Ark. But this time, the animals aren’t fleeing a flood, but rather insecurity, fear, and anxiety,“ Zazueta said.
The cartel is one of six Mexican drug trafficking groups designated terrorist organizations by the United States.
Regular roadblocks and armed clashes in the region made it difficult for the sanctuary's workers to keep the captive wildlife fed, another reason to relocate them.
Workers sedated the most dangerous of them, including lions and tigers, so they could be placed in cages for the 220-kilometer (nearly 140-mile) road trip.
The final destination is a site called “Bioparque El Encanto,“ located in the seaside resort town of Mazatlan on Sinaloa’s Pacific coast and owned by a local businessman, Zazueta said.
Since September, federal authorities have discovered at least 14 big cats, some seized in raids and others found in abandoned houses believed to be used for criminal activities.
“If animals can no longer live in Culiacan, who can?” Zazueta said
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