Many wild animals are involved in the tourism industry by appearing in zoos. While some of these animals are well-cared for, others may be abused so that their caretakers can profit.

In 2017, a baby dolphin was killed by tourists who didn’t realize what they were doing. The animal had somehow made its way to the shore, where it was spotted by passersby who then picked it up and passed it around for photos.

Once they were finished, the tourists abandoned the dolphin calf on the sand without any regard for its well-being. As a result of this neglect, the poor animal died from being out of water for too long.

This story illustrates animals’ cruelty when they are still young and vulnerable.

A lion cub was separated from its mother to be used for a photo op with tourists. The young cub, only a few months old, was beaten and abused so it couldn’t run away. As a result of the abuse, the lion cub’s legs and spine were broken.

The lion cub was chained up inside a barn so that people could come and take pictures with it. The people who abused him regularly tortured the animal, beating it until it was submitted. If the people hadn’t taken him from his mother, he would be roaming around freely in the wild–not experiencing this horrific treatment.

If rescuers had not found the cub when they did, it might have met the same end as the baby dolphin. Without intervention, the cub would not have survived.

After the lion cub received surgery and care, it was named “Simba” by its rescuers. The story of the Simba became known worldwide, including to Vladimir Putin.

After hearing about the lion cub, he ordered a criminal investigation to get to the bottom of the matter. Once other people read its story, they wanted to help as well; one of them being the rescuer and Russian vet, Karen Dallakyan.

Karen is an animal lover and has retired from her job to focus on saving them. She’s saved tigers, birds, snakes – you name it. And now she’s set her sights on helping Simba, a lion cub who is recovering nicely thanks to Karen’s efforts.

Simba, the lion cub, is playing with its toys while healing from injuries. It has slowly become a happy animal; trusting its rescuers and other human beings. After being given care and treatment for one year, Simba’s recovery is almost complete.

There is still a lot of animal abuse taking place every day, but thankfully there are also people working hard to help them.