Authorities forced their way into a private zoo on Sunday and removed 12 animals because of fears that they were malnourished. Albanian police and conservation officials pried open the main gate ...

Vets from the charity sedated 12 animals - three lions, a bear, a waterbuck, four deer, a fox, a zebra and a turtle - and transported them to Tirana’s public zoo.

Lenci and the other rescued animals were transported to a zoo in Albania’s capital Tirana. Picture: Four Paws Animal welfare activists of ‘Four Paws’ remove Lenci.

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albanian authorities forced their way into a private zoo on Sunday and removed 12 animals because of fears that they were malnourished.

The word "zoo" was coined in the 1840s by the London Zoo, which first called itself a "zoological garden," but the idea of holding animals in public viewing cells dates back to 3500 B.C. in Egypt.

Albanian police on Sunday broke open cages at a private zoo and removed 11 animals including three lions and a bear being kept in "hellish ... Animals rescued from ‘hellish’ Albanian zoo. By. AFP.

Albanian authorities forced their way into a private zoo on Sunday and removed 12 animals because of fears that they were malnourished. Skip to content. NBC4 WCMH-TV.

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albanian authorities forced their way into a private zoo on Sunday and removed 12 animals because of fears that they were malnourished.