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Monaco royals keep French zoo from euthanizing elephants

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LYON, France, July 12 (UPI) -- Monaco's royal family has rescued two elephants from a French zoo that planned to euthanize them due to suspected tuberculosis infection.

The Tete d'Or zoo in Lyon caused a public outcry, led by actor Brigitte Bardot, when it announced elephants Baby and Nepal, ages 42 and 43, would be put down because they likely contracted tuberculosis and could pose a threat to other animals, Radio France Internationale reported Friday.

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The campaign to save the animals got the attention of Monaco's royal family and Princess Stephanie was on hand to witness the elephants being loaded into a truck for transport to the Roc Agel ranch, an estate owned by the royal family in southeastern France's Alpes-Maritime region.

The royal family said the elephants will live out the rest of their lives in a nearly 1-acre enclosure with a wooden shed and a pool.

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