A black leopard rescued from a roadside operation in Oregon now has his own place to call home at a sanctuary in Alpine.
Lions, Tigers & Bears is home to about 16 rescued exotic animals, now including its newest member, Onyx. After nearly a year at the sanctuary, Onyx has officially moved into a custom-built habitat designed just for him.
“We’ve put this together especially for Onyx,” a sanctuary representative said. “He can get up high, because of course, leopards like to be up high. And he’s got the grass and some water features and rocks.”
The new enclosure is a complete 180 for Onyx, who was born in captivity and spent most of his life at a roadside operation in Oregon. He was rescued along with hundreds of other animals.
“He lived in a small cage on rock, like pebbly rock, which is really sharp and kind of sad and he was kind of in the middle of all the chaos and it was really pretty traumatic for him,” said Bobbi Brink, founder and director of Lions, Tigers & Bears.
“But he’s doing really good now,” Brink said.
Caretakers at the sanctuary say Onyx has adjusted well, thanks to months of care and rehabilitation.
“I think just that relief that he’s OK and now he’s set,” Brink said. “He’s gonna be a happy cat.”
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This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC San Diego. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC San Diego journalist edited the article for publication.