11 Life-Saving Animal Sanctuaries

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Wolong Giant Panda Sanctuary—China

Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2006, the Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries collectively provide refuge for 30 percent of the world’s panda population. This sanctuary is one of the province's three reserves and has about 150 bears.

(Photo: ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images)

Swan Sanctuary—England

A five-acre site in Shepperton provides a heated intensive care facility and exercise pond for swans recovering from injuries. According to a 2010 Telegraph article, several thousand swans have received treatment at the facility.

(Photo: Luke MacGregor/Reuters)

Sloth Sanctuary—Costa Rica

This center houses 150 orphaned and injured sloths that are undergoing rehabilitation before they can return to their natural habitat. The sanctuary also has an educational facility devoted to the research and observation of the two sloth species found in the country.

(Photo: Juan Carlos Ulate/Reuters)

Sanctuary for Traumatized Chimpanzees—Austria

Thirty-eight chimpanzees now enjoy fresh air and freedom in Gänserndorf after spending three decades in laboratories.

(Photo: Herwig Prammer/Reuters)

Mkomazi Rhino Sanctuary—Tanzania

This enclosed area within Mkomazi National Park is currently training 13 rhinos to readjust to life in the wild.

(Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary—Australia

At the world’s largest koala reserve, visitors can cuddle with one of the 130 marsupials.

(Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary—Malaysia

Founded in 1964, Sepilok was the first orangutan rehabilitation center in the world. Each year 60 to 80 orangutans are rescued from pet captivity or deforestation and are cared for until they can fend for themselves.

(Photo: Inga Spence/Getty Images)

Sidmouth Donkey Sanctuary—England

Since its founding in 1969, 14,500 formerly abused donkeys have sought refuge on one of the nine farms owned by this organization.

(Photo: Getty Images)

Libearty Bear Sanctuary—Romania

After seeing bears caged and exploited across the country, Cristina Lapis founded this organization to expose them to their natural surroundings. Fifty bears have been relocated to an oak forest in the Carpathian Mountains, where a veterinary clinic, hibernation dens, and fresh-water pools are available.

(Photo: Libearty Bear)

Tarsier Foundation Sanctuary—Philippines

The Tarsier Foundation Sanctuary was established in the Bohol province of the Philippines in 1997. A tarsier has eyeballs the size of its brain, a head that can rotate 180 degrees, ears like a bat, and is one of the world's smallest primates at just four inches tall, reports AFP.

(Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

The Elephant Sanctuary—Tennessee

Located in Hohenwald, Tennessee, the largest natural-habitat refuge in the United States is home to 14 elephants that were rescued from zoos and circuses.