After 15 Years Of Friendship, This Unlikely Animal Trio Said Goodbye To One Of Their Brothers

Social media users went crazy when they first heard the story of the lion, tiger, and bear (oh my!) whose dark pasts made them inseparable furr-ever friends. Yes, the unlikely trio of friends lived together happily for over a decade. But when fate stepped in to take one of the brothers away for good, the trio’s parting was nothing short of heartbreaking. 

An unexpected discovery

The eclectic friends' touching story began back in 2001 when police carried out a raid on a house in Atlanta. The officers’ search took them to the basement of the house, where they found something that must have made their jaws hit the floor.

From curiosity to fear

There, in the middle of all the chaos, were three caged exotic animal cubs. The officers must have been stunned. How did three exotic animals end up in the basement of criminals? As the officers got closer to the cubs, though, their curiosity was replaced by alarm.

Malnourished and neglected

The babies – a bear, a lion, and a tiger – were underweight and infested with parasites both inside and out. And, in addition to their malnourishment and neglect, the animals had suffered horrible abuse in their cages, which were clearly not fit for creatures of their size.

They were a terrible sight

The lion cub was found with a sore-looking injury on his nose; he had been kept in a crate so small that the bars were digging into his snout. Even worse, the bear cub had outgrown his restraints completely, so the harness had to be surgically removed.