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By FÉLIX MÁRQUEZ
Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year]
CULIACAN, Mexico (AP) — A pack of veterinarians clambered over hefty metal crates on Tuesday morning, loading them one by one onto a fleet of semi-trucks. Among the cargo: tigers, monkeys, jaguars, elephants and lions – all fleeing the latest wave of cartel violence eclipsing the northern Mexican city of Culiacan.
For years, exotic pets of cartel members and circus animals have been living in a small animal refuge on the outskirts of Sinaloa’s capital. However, a bloody power struggle erupted last year between rival Sinaloa cartel factions, plunging the region into unprecedented violence and leaving the leaders of the Ostok Sanctuary reeling from armed attacks, constant death threats and a cutoff from essential supplies needed to keep their 700 animals alive.
A lion sits in a cage waiting to be transported to Mazatlan, Sinaloa state, at the Ostok Sanctuary, on the outskirts of Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
A lion sits in a cage waiting to be transported to Mazatlan, Sinaloa state, at the Ostok Sanctuary, on the outskirts of Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
A staff member sprays an elephant with water at the animal refuge Ostok Sanctuary, on the outskirts of Culiacan, Mexico, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
A staff member sprays an elephant with water at the animal refuge Ostok Sanctuary, on the outskirts of Culiacan, Mexico, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
Emus from the Ostok Sanctuary sit in a truck while getting transported to Mazatlan, Sinaloa state, from the refuge in the outskirts of Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
Emus from the Ostok Sanctuary sit in a truck while getting transported to Mazatlan, Sinaloa state, from the refuge in the outskirts of Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
Staff prepare a lioness for transfer, at the animal refuge Ostok Sanctuary, on the outskirts of Culiacan, Mexico, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
Staff prepare a lioness for transfer, at the animal refuge Ostok Sanctuary, on the outskirts of Culiacan, Mexico, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
Ostok Sanctuary staff members transport animals in trucks to Mazatlan, Sinaloa state, from the refuge in the outskirts of Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
Ostok Sanctuary staff members transport animals in trucks to Mazatlan, Sinaloa state, from the refuge in the outskirts of Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
Staff members carry a jaguar in a transport cage at the animal refuge Ostok Sanctuary, on the outskirts of Culiacan, Mexico, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
Staff members carry a jaguar in a transport cage at the animal refuge Ostok Sanctuary, on the outskirts of Culiacan, Mexico, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
An elephant stands in a transport trailer at the animal refuge Ostok Sanctuary, on the outskirts of Culiacan, Mexico, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
An elephant stands in a transport trailer at the animal refuge Ostok Sanctuary, on the outskirts of Culiacan, Mexico, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
A lioness rests inside a transport cage at the animal refuge Ostok Sanctuary, on the outskirts of Culiacan, Mexico, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
A lioness rests inside a transport cage at the animal refuge Ostok Sanctuary, on the outskirts of Culiacan, Mexico, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
An elephant bird stands in its enclosure at the animal refuge Ostok Sanctuary, on the outskirts of Culiacan, Mexico, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
An elephant bird stands in its enclosure at the animal refuge Ostok Sanctuary, on the outskirts of Culiacan, Mexico, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
A staff membergives an elephant water at the animal refuge Ostok Sanctuary, on the outskirts of Culiacan, Mexico, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
A staff membergives an elephant water at the animal refuge Ostok Sanctuary, on the outskirts of Culiacan, Mexico, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
Ostok Sanctuary animal sanctuary staff prepare a jaguar to be transferred, on the outskirts of Culiacan, Mexico, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
Ostok Sanctuary animal sanctuary staff prepare a jaguar to be transferred, on the outskirts of Culiacan, Mexico, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
Ostok Sanctuary staff members move animals into trucks to transport them to Mazatlan, Sinaloa state, from the refuge in the outskirts of Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
Ostok Sanctuary staff members move animals into trucks to transport them to Mazatlan, Sinaloa state, from the refuge in the outskirts of Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
A lioness looks out from inside a transport cage at the animal refuge Ostok Sanctuary, on the outskirts of Culiacan, Mexico, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
A lioness looks out from inside a transport cage at the animal refuge Ostok Sanctuary, on the outskirts of Culiacan, Mexico, Monday, May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
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