 After 15 years of friendship, this tiger and bear just set a final farewell to their lion brother. Social media users went crazy when they first heard the story of the bear, the lion and the tiger whose tortured pasts made them inseparable forever friends. Yes, the trio lived together happily for over a decade, but now fate has stepped in to take one of the brothers away for good. Their parting is heartbreaking. The touching story of the eclectic friends began back in 2001 when police carried out a drug 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. There, three caged exotic animal cubs had been kept in terrible conditions. The babies, a bear, a lion and a tiger, were underweight, underfed 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 animals of their size. The lion was further 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 from his flesh. After they were rescued then, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources took the trio to the NOAA's Ark Animal Sanctuary, NAAS, where they received emergency medical treatment. Moreover, all three of the cubs thankfully made a full recovery and found a new home at the sanctuary and a new family with each other. Two of the cubs, Baloo, the American Black Bear, and Sheer Khan, the Bengal Tiger, were named after characters from the jungle book. Meanwhile, the African lion cub, mainless owing to an early neutering operation, was named Leo. Thereafter, the three buddies became widely known as the BLT, Bear, Lion, and Tiger. Surprisingly, even after they were rescued, the BLT preferred staying together, and the sanctuary allowed them to share the same living space. There, they acted every bit like a family, giving one another comfort and love and playing with each other as if they were born to it. Indeed, the sanctuary reported that BLT's traumatic past brought them together as brothers. Baloo, Leo and Sheer Khan eat, sleep, and play together, and even seek out grooming and affection from one another, head rubbing and licking each another, NAAS said on its website. They're terrifying early months and life bonded the three together, and they are truly inseparable despite their obvious differences. The family's sweet toothed Baloo is just like his relaxed fictional counterpart, whereas Sheer Khan is much more mischievous and enjoys pouncing on his brothers when they least expect it. Sheer Khan is also the most affectionate of the BLT. Meanwhile, languid Leo normally seemed lethargic, and yet he sprang to life whenever it was playtime. The brothers lived together happily for 15 years at NAAS, well into their golden years in terms of their lifespan. However, in August 2016 the sanctuary posted the sad news that the BLT was going to be missing one of its beloved family members. On August 11 we said goodbye to our beloved Leo, the 15-year-old lion in our BLT trio, the organization's statement read on Facebook. Leo hadn't been himself the past few weeks and because numerous diagnostics tests couldn't explain his symptoms of inappetence and lethargy, he was scheduled for exploratory abdominal surgery. Tragically, the findings of the operation revealed worse news. During the procedure, our veterinarians discovered that over 80 percent of Leo's liver was full of inoperable masses and because of this, the heart-wrenching decision was made to let him go, NAAS sadly announced. Before Leo passed though, his brothers were allowed to say a final farewell to him. Interestingly, the sanctuary staff reported that its likely Leo's passing came as no surprise to Sheer Khan and Baloo. According to the Facebook spokesperson for NAAS, the BLT brothers probably noticed Leo's health problems before his carers did. Animals are so perceptive, NAAS wrote. With the incredible bond the BLT had since being rescued together from a drug dealer's basement in 2001, it is highly likely that Baloo and Sheer Khan knew their lion brother was terminally ill long before Leo began displaying outward symptoms. Because of the tight bond the BLT shared, then, the sanctuary staff are also taking extra precautions to monitor Leo's brothers for behavioral changes. So far, Baloo and Sheer Khan are coping remarkably well with Leo's absence. Of course, Leo will be missed by many humans as well, but instead of having a solemn ceremony, NAAS held a celebration of life event for staff and guests. A wonderful time was had by all as we came together on August 27th to remember Leo, the lion of Noah's Ark, NAAS reported. For those who couldn't make the event, the celebration was broadcast live on social media. On the occasion, volunteers baked cakes, a photo wall became covered with flowers and admirers of all ages filled Leo's memorial book with touching sentiments. To further commemorate his memory, a lion statue was placed on his grave next to the clubhouse where the brothers would spend their time together. And it seems that the surviving brothers paid a heart-wrenching tribute to their past family member when they saw the statue for the first time. Guests at Leo's celebration of life event this past Saturday were able to see Baloo and Sheer Khan investigate the new statue, NAAS reported. And of course, silly old Baloo put on quite the show rubbing against and loving on Leo's memorial. The support from Leo's fans was also deeply appreciated. We are beyond grateful for the overwhelming support of the public during such a difficult time, and we continue to be amazed by how many lives the BLT has impacted, the sanctuary wrote on Facebook. Leo was truly one of a kind and will never be forgotten. What made Baloo, Sheer Khan and Leo's story so special was that more often than not, experts tend to mix animals of the same species. That's not to say there haven't been any incredible incidences when the normal protocol is followed though. Take this abused lioness, for instance, who was just desperate to have some company. No one knew how she would react when they put her in an enclosure with a four-month-old lion cub, and what happened next blew everyone away. Keeper Karel Jertz watches on as the two lions approach each other. One is a lioness named Mastria, and she was once a caged promotional tool for her cruel former owners. The other is a four-month-old lion cub called Nero, who used to belong to a circus. They are both a need of company, but nobody could have guessed what would happen when they met. This initial meeting took place in early 2013, but the story of Mastria and Nero was a long time in the making. In fact, it is still being told today. It all started, however, when someone spotted a then unknown lioness caged at the side of a busy road. Still, it wasn't until this lioness had arrived at a lion foundation called Stichting Lo, which is located in the Netherlands, that somebody named her Mastria. And she had made her way to Stichting Lo after a long journey from Egypt. Yes, it was in Egypt that Mastria had spent the early part of her life as a pet. Then, a street trader purchased her. And this trader subsequently used her as seemingly little more than a promotional tool and photography prop for his services. Indeed, someone declawed the poor lioness to allow tourists to pose with her for souvenir photographs. And when Mastria grew too large to handle, her owner restricted her to a tiny cage. In fact, Mastria spent the majority of her time in that cage, until she was around two years old. Worse, her owner kept her on display outside a shop in Cairo. Mastria's life changed, however, after a German woman named Saskia Berent saw her on the busy street. Yes, Berent took a photo of Mastria in August 2012, but this was not a keepsake. In fact, Berent shared the photo of the caged lioness online. Berent then began a petition to help free Mastria. Moreover, this act drew the attention of UK-based organization spots and Stripes Conservation, and it assisted with the fundraising. In February 2013 the organization even helped purchase Mastria from her owner. And with the help of KLM Airlines and the Netherlands Zoologistics, it aided in transferring her to Stiktinglo, which means lion foundation in Dutch. Many of the cats at Stiktinglo come from countries that have recently enacted a law banning the use of wild animals in circuses. But getting them there can be tricky. Some circuses, for instance, fight such laws, as was the case with this mountain lion, which was eventually rescued from a Peruvian circus. But more often, there is a sudden influx of big cat rescues needing a home. Sadly, many of these cats share similar stories of mistreatment to Mastrias. Indeed, when Mastria arrived at Stiktinglo, she could barely walk understandably. She was severely weakened from living in a cramped cage and eating a diet lacking in red meat. Furthermore, Mastria could no longer survive in the wild on her own because of her declawing. In fact, declawing is one of the most common reasons why circus cats need sanctuary and cannot return to the wild. After all, they can no longer hunt successfully, and staff will need to give them food for the rest of their lives. But luckily for this lioness, the goal of Stiktinglo is to provide big cat's shelter and care for as long as they need. So, things finally began to look up for Mastria. Yes, in the Netherlands, sanctuary staff treated the lioness with dignity, and she had a spacious enclosure with a garden to enjoy. Mastria could even go outside and roll in the dirt. Perhaps best of all though, once she arrived at Stiktinglo, Mastria found a lifelong companion in a young lion cub. It came about because the sanctuary placed Mastria in an adjacent enclosure to Nero. The young cub had arrived two months earlier, having been rescued from a French circus. Moreover, Nero had been taken from his mother and served as a petting cub for a circus sideshow. And, like Mastria, Nero too had been used as a prop in tourist photographs. In fact, the cub had been born into a circus life, and that was all he knew. And this was despite the French circus that had used his mom in an act having already stopped its lion show before he was born. Still, the circus soon sold the lioness only surviving cub to another circus. And all of this, amazingly, happened before Nero had even turned 4 months old. Like Mastria then, the cub had spent most of his days in a cramped cage, except when someone wanted to take a picture with him. One day though, a concerned citizen called the lion foundation to report Nero's mistreatment. As a result, Nero was rescued shortly thereafter and brought to Stiktinglo, where he met Mastria. And fortunately for all, it was immediately clear that Mastria and Nero enjoyed each other's company. In fact, they even started playing and interacting through the fence separating them. This is why employees at Stiktinglo decided to pair the two up in an enclosure together. And, heartwarmingly, the lions bonded quickly, and they haven't left each other's side since. Indeed, Mastria became something of a mother figure to young Nero, and Nero was a companion to the lioness. For example, the two played together, slept together, and learned from each other. It could, therefore, have been a stumbling block in their relationship when Stiktinglo eventually decided that it was time for Mastria to return to her native Africa. But by then, Mastria and Nero were a package deal, so the two made the move together. Yes, in May 2015 Mastria and Nero took the journey together to the Amoya Big Cat Sanctuary in South Africa. This haven for lions recently also took in 33 rescued Circus lions. Amoya is located on the Heuser family's private Bahati estate. In fact, Savannah Heuser started the sanctuary when she was only 16 years old. The first cat arrived at the sanctuary in June 2013, and many more have followed. In May 2016, for instance, Amoya Big Cat Sanctuary agreed to take in 33 rescued cats from South America. In fact, Amoya partnered with Animal Defenders International, ADI, to successfully carry out the biggest animal airlift to date to bring the cats to South Africa. Spanning 5,000 hectares of land, Amoya is now home to more than 42 big cats, including 40 lions and two Siberian tigers. The cats live in semi-wild enclosures, giving them ample space to roam in a natural habitat. And within the reserve are mountainous regions, sweeping grassland and river gorges, according to Amoya's website. Mastria and Nero had a long journey ahead of them to reach the rippling fields of Amoya, however. First, Stichting Lusstaff had to coax the two lions into specialized animal carriers. These then carried them to the airport and then all the way to Johannesburg, South Africa. From Johannesburg, Mastria and Nero traveled to the Valewater region of Limpopo Province, South Africa. Finally, they arrived at the Amoya Big Cat Sanctuary and tentatively took their first steps out of their carriers onto the soil of their new, vast enclosure. And Facebook photos show the pair being quite content in their new home. After all, the sanctuary now gives her and Nero a place in which to grow in their natural habitat. We followed Mastria's story from day one and she was the lioness who inspired us to do what we do, said Minyanette Hoyser, co-founder of Amoya Sanctuary, in an interview with the Dodo. Imagine our surprise and delight when, years later, the very same lioness, with her new partner, came into our care. With Rune to Rome, then, the two are happy and playful, and they are still inseparable. That said, Nero has grown from the small cub he once was, he is now quite the regal lion, with an elegant, flowing mane. But this would never have been possible without the kind-hearted folks working to make the world a better place for animals like these.