Saba, an African lioness, came to us as a cub in 1989. Her rescue is the result of commercial breeding gone bad. At AWF, her powerful presence and intelligence always reminded visitors of the ferocious nature of the big cats. She passed away after a brief illness and, true to her wild nature, did not showing any sign of weakness until she was ready to go.

For the story of Saba's unique eye surgeries

Sheba started life as a photo booth cat and at four months, she was no longer just cute – she was becoming dangerous. Her next step was to be put down.  Her rescue by AWF was perfectly timed - she needed a home and Saba needed a companion. Since Saba's death, she has become more outgoing and fierce in her guardianship of her home.

Magic is an Asian black leopard, who was rescued as a baby in 1990 because of a disastrous declawing operation whichcreated in her fear of humans and refusal to eat. Her situation required physical and emotional rehabilitation. She has come full circle and now loves to perform her clicker training for visitors.    

Eden, a beautiful Siberian tiger, came to board with us in 1996 at eight months old. She was highly socialized in hopes starring in a magic show with her owner.  When plans changed, Animazonia adopted Eden, assuming full responsibility for her care. Her charming personality made her a perfect ambassador for Animazonia and greeted visitors with her characteristic chuffing. She lived to be 15 years old before passing away from complications from blood-related immune challenges.

Beauty was a California mountain lion, a truly beautiful cougar. She was rescued from an intolerable living situation – living in a crowded, dirty cage with 25 other cats. She suffered the horrific practice of filing down her canine teeth which led to a systemic bacterial infection that ultimately caused kidney failure and death.  She passed away after spending twelve wonderful years at AWF.

Babu, a large male cougar, was our original rescue. He had been transported illegally from Idaho to California for sale. He will always be remembered because he was the cat who showed us the plight of exotic cats in captivity. He lived at AWF until he passed away in 1992.