On Friday, seven lions, a bear, a camel, and even a porcupine departed from the only zoo in Puerto Rico in search of a new home in Colorado.

On Friday, seven lions, a bear, a camel, and even a porcupine departed from the only zoo in Puerto Rico in search of a new home in Colorado.

A U.S.-based animal rescue organization began relocating the animals as part of a strategy to find them better homes outside of the zoo, where many species have perished.

The zoo staff and the Wild Animal Sanctuary organization prepared the big cats and other animals for the long trip. The deaths and ill health of animals recorded at the zoo in the Mayaguez western town for more than a decade have long been blamed on the authorities of the U.S. territory by activists. 

As a result, the zoo's animals and other species are being taken out under the direction of the Wild Animal Sanctuary. Meanwhile, they will be sent to a refuge in Colorado until a permanent home is sought.

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Some smaller specimens, including monkeys and reptiles, had already been moved, but larger mammals like lions, bears, and camels needed special transportation procedures.

According to a government-appointed committee, two pumas have passed away at the zoo in the last ten years. Along with a limping rhinoceros named Felipe and an underweight chimpanzee, it expressed concern over the lack of shelter for animals.

An American black bear named Nina, who had stopped eating, passed away in January at the age of more than 20 from a heart attack. In captivity, black bears can live for up to 35 years.

After negotiating an arrangement with local officials to move the animals to sanctuaries on the U.S. mainland, federal authorities announced in March that they were ceasing all investigations into the zoo. The news infuriated a lot of activists.

In 1954, the zoo first welcomed visitors. Nevertheless, it has been closed ever since hurricanes Maria and Irma devastated Puerto Rico in September 2017.