I love animals, and a full-grown mountain lion should not be locked up in a pickup truck.

Mufasa, a mountain lion, was compelled to dwell there.

The Peruvian touring circus made his life horrible so others might be amused and his owner could profit.

Lucky for him, animal lovers rescued him.

Circuses, zoos, and exhibitions still abuse and neglect animals. The situation for many animals has improved in recent years, but we still have a long way to go.

Because thousands of unfortunate animals still live in cramped conditions and don’t get the lives they deserve.

Peru’s Mufasa mountain lion was tethered to a pickup vehicle. He stayed there for 20 years, pushed into a life he disapproved of.

Mufasa got lucky late in life, luckily. After months of effort, Animal Defenders International liberated him in 2015. That organization found him while seeking to shut down a Peruvian circus.

Freedom greatly improved Mufasa’s health. He had the right all wild creatures have to live out their final years in nature on their own terms, without concern or persecution.

Mufasa’s rescue tale is touching, and the video below depicts his first independence. Very good!

After being emancipated from the circus, Mufasa had a few months before his health declined.

Kidney disease and other age-related disorders resulted from being hitched to a pickup truck at 20 years old. He died in 2015, per Animal Defenders International.

But his experience illuminates an essential issue.

A lovely, compassionate beast, Mufasa enjoyed receiving backstrokes. It’s terrible that he couldn’t spend more time in the Amazon, but it would have been worse if he never had freedom.

No animal should be mistreated like Mustafa! Please share this video to demonstrate your animal advocacy!