Tigers, jaguars, elephants latest to flee Mexico cartel violence

Veterinarians and animals, accompanied by the Mexican National Guard, began travelling along the freeway to seaside Mazatlan, where they plan to release the animals into another wildlife reserve away from the conflict

- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

A pack of veterinarians clambered over hefty metal crates 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.