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Actress Pamela Anderson visits lion rescued from flood-hit zoo in Russian Far East

The lion, called Grey, was airlifted by rescuers of the Russian Ministry for Emergency Situations after spending three days in his half-submerged cage

© Photo by Paul A. Hebert/Invision/AP

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Helicopter lift frees trapped lion’s cage at flooded Far East zoo, rescue continues

VLADIVOSTOK, September 3./TASS/. American actress Pamela Anderson, who arrived to the Eastern Economic Forum in the Russian Far Eastern city of Vladivostok to discuss wildlife protection, visited on Thursday the lion rescued from a flood-stricken animal park in Ussuriysk, the director of the regional branch of the Amur Tiger Centre told Tass.

"Pamela Anderson came to visit the lion, and at the same time she learned about programs to preserve Amur tigers and Far Eastern leopards, promising to take part in these programs," Sergei Aramilev said.

The lion, called Grey, was airlifted by rescuers of the Russian Ministry for Emergency Situations after spending three days in his half-submerged cage.

"Now the animal is on quarantine in a roomy cage. The lion is healthy and eats well. After the quarantine ends, he will be released into a spacious enclosure," Aramilev said.

Green Island animal park in Ussuriysk, flooded by heavy rain on August 30, was home to 39 animals, the smallest of the zoo's inhabitants evacuated first by police in portable cages.

The operation to evacuate animals began early on September 1. On Wednesday, a total of 15 zoo inhabitants - 11 bears, a wild jungle cat and three wolf-dog hybrids - were evacuated. Grey was the first animal to be airlifted on Tuesday.

It is still unclear how many animals have died in the flooding.

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