A multidisciplinary team from the Complex Zoo Park of Ciego de Ávila left early Wednesday morning for the municipality of Florida, in Camagüey, to carry out the so-called "Operation Leo": the rescue of the lion Panchito, the only feline in the municipal zoo of that locality, which had been at the center of a public outcry for abandonment and severe malnutrition for weeks.
The nighttime operation concluded successfully. Workers in green uniforms and safety helmets loaded the animal’s transport cage into a white pickup truck and started the journey to Ciego de Ávila, where Panchito was immediately received with veterinary care.
"Thanks to the effort and love for animals, the lion Panchito is now in his new enclosure," confirmed the zoo in its Facebook posts.
Since his arrival, the animal has been receiving multivitamins and enhanced nutrition. The institution clarified that Panchito will not be on display for the time being, while he recovers from the relocation and acclimates to his new environment.
"During these days and until further notice, he will not be on display until he recovers from the trip and adapts to his new home, where love and attention will not be lacking. Welcome, Panchito," specified the Ciego de Ávila zoo.
The case erupted on July 21, when the activist and journalist Ailen Vargas Abella reported the abandonment of the feline on Facebook: the animal had been "completely without food for a whole month," was confined in a cage with rusted corrugated iron bars, had a dirty earthen floor, debris and bones on the ground, and its ribs were visibly protruding.
"The lack of commitment and the irresponsibility of those who are supposed to care for the animal are the result of the depressing situation faced by the zoo and the lion, which is nearly immortal, considering the lack of attention it has been subjected to," wrote Vargas Abella.
It was not the first alert. In December 2025, independent journalist José Luis Tan Estrada had already reported that the same animal had gone eight days without eating. And in 2018, when Florida hosted the provincial event for July 26, the provincial Communal Company committed to relocating the feline to the provincial zoo of Ciego de Ávila, a promise that took eight years to come to fruition.
It was the public pressure generated by Vargas Abella's complaint that ultimately triggered institutional action. The Ciego de Ávila zoo itself acknowledged "his sensitivity and the work done to raise awareness about Panchito's situation."
The rescue was supported by Aniplant-Cuba, Ayaz Zoo, the OSDE of Flora and Fauna, the Cuban Zoological Company, and the territorial delegation of Hydraulic Resources of Ciego de Ávila.
The case of Panchito is not an isolated incident. In April of this year, there was areport of extreme abandonment of lions at the Casino Campestre zoo in Camagüey, where officials admitted that the economic crisis is affecting their feeding. In February, Bienestar Animal Cuba warned about hunger and neglect at the zoo in Puerto Padre, in Las Tunas. Similar situations have been reported at the 26 Zoo in Havana and at those in Colón (Matanzas), Santiago de Cuba, and Sancti Spíritus.
Cuba has Decree-Law No. 31 on Animal Welfare and Resolution 140 of 2021, which explicitly prohibit mistreatment, abandonment, and cruel treatment of animals. However, the enforcement of these measures in state facilities has been virtually nonexistent, according to reports accumulated across the country.
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