Three petrified cubs – each a bear, lion and tiger – were found malnourished and riddled with parasites in a drug-dealer's filthy basement.
Traumatised and clinging onto each other for comfort the unlikely cub "brothers" were rescued from the house of horrors in Atlanta, Georgia, US, back in 2001.
The trio, dubbed 'BLT', were found severely underweight as they cowered in cramped cages in the basement beneath the house – Baloo the bear had a severely ingrown harness digging into his flesh that had worsened as he grew in size.
READ MORE: Boy, 3, cradled by hero gorilla with baby on her back after he fell into zoo enclosure
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Shere Khan the tiger was just skin and bone, infected with parasites – while Leo the lion had an open, infected wound on his nose from the confines of the tiny crates they were squeezed in.
The brothers from other mothers were rescued by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and taken to Noah’s Ark Animal Sanctuary, a non-profit animal rescue in Locust Grove, Alabama, for life-saving treatment.
Thankfully the bros were nursed back to health and were able to continue their inseparable friendship at the sanctuary while living among each other everyday – with the animals grooming each other, and cuddling and playing together, reports the Mirror. They even had their own living quarters named 'The Clubhouse'.
Sadly, though, only one brother remains. Baloo the bear is now 22 and still lives at the sanctuary where he is said to enjoy the creek and eating Oreos.
In 2016 caretakers noticed a difference in Leo the lion's behaviour and he was found to be suffering from inoperable liver tumours, and the decision was made to put him to sleep on August 11. He was aged 15.
Shere Khan the Bengal tiger's death came just two years later on December 18, 2018, at the age of 17 as a result of failing body functions. The two brothers were laid to rest next to each other in 'The Clubhouse' in which Baloo the bear still resides, as a memorial to the remarkable brotherly friendship.
Meanwhile, a three-year-old boy was cradled and carried to safety by a mum gorilla after falling into a zoo enclosure – in a miracle that completely baffled animal experts.
Back in 1996 the boy slipped away from his mum and ended up taking a fall into the gorilla enclosure at Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, US. The child, who has never been identified, broke his hand and got a nasty cut to his face from the 20-foot drop.
And with seven territorial gorillas roaming the enclosure, what one would expect to happen next doesn't bare thinking about.
But, in a strange turn of events, one mother gorilla Binti Jua – meaning daughter of sunshine – did something completely unexpected. Read the full story here.
