Lion and Tiger and Bear

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! That line from The Wizard of Oz has accompanied the viral images of a lion, tiger, and bear living together for more than 20 years. The story is true. The abused and neglected animals were confiscated from the home of a drug dealer in Atlanta in 2001, and were sent to Noah's Ark Animal Sanctuary in rural Georgia. The creatures, all apex predators, saw each other as family and only thrived when they were together, so that's how they lived for 15 years at the shelter. They came to be known as BLT (bear, lion, tiger). Leo lived to be 15 years old, and Shere Khan died at the age of 17, both having lived quite long for their species. You can learn more about Leo, Shere Khan, and Baloo at Wikipiedia.