Animal exodus from cartel crossfire

A lion at the sanctuary waiting to be transported to Mazatlan, where the bursts of violence are more tempered than in Culiacan. — AP

A PACK of veterinarians clambered over hefty metal crates, loading them one by one onto a fleet of semi-trucks.

Among the cargo: tigers, monkeys, jaguars, elephants and lions – all fleeing the latest wave of cartel violence eclipsing the northern Mexican city of Culiacan.