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Officials and
volunteers at the Wildlife Waystation in the northern Los
Angeles suburb of Sylmar moved about three-quarters of the
sprawling facility's 400 animals on Saturday, including dozens
of large animals such as tigers, lions, bears and cougars,
founder Martine Colette said in a telephone interview.
The animals were coaxed into cages by voice command and meat for
bait, and then loaded onto trucks, vans and trailers, Colette
said.
The so-called Sand Fire has charred 59 square miles (153 sq km)
since it broke out on Friday in a mostly rural area around the
community of Acton on the northwestern fringes of the Angeles
National Forest.
Wildlife Waystation said it expects to return the animals to the
Sylmar facility on Wednesday, since firefighters have made
progress containing the blaze.
The creatures great and small, which were taken to other wild
animal sanctuaries in Southern California, have been stressed by
the move, Colette said. "They absolutely hate it, and it will
take them several days, maybe as long as a week, to settle down
when they finally come home."
Most of the animals evacuated from the facility are small,
including birds and lizards, that could easily be harmed by
smoke, she said.
The fire also forced ranch and farm owners in the region to
evacuate their livestock by trailer to a number of facilities.
More than 300 horses, 165 goats, 33 pigs and two Brahman bulls
were displaced by the fire, according to the Los Angeles County
Department of Animal Care and Control.
About 10 miles (16 km) north of the Wildlife Waystation,
officials at the Lange Foundation's St. Bonnie's Sanctuary in
Canyon Country on Saturday evacuated more than 40 dogs, over 60
cats and 14 horses, a board member with the organization, Diane
Nelson, said in a telephone interview.
Most of them were taken by car and van to one of the
foundation's centers in Los Angeles. The foundation saves
animals from being euthanized at shelters.
Officials from two animal sanctuaries in the northern Los
Angeles County region, the Gibbon Conservation Center that is
home to arboreal apes, and the Shambala Preserve for big cats,
said they were able to avoid moving their animals.
(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Toni Reinhold)
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