Mexico City, Mexico - A lion rescued from a cruel taxidermist who was waiting for the animal to die of starvation and thirst so that he could mount it, has become a star attraction at a local zoo.

Ever since the news of his ordeal was published, people have been flocking to see the lion at the San Juan de Aragon Zoo in Mexico City, where the animal is being looked after in an enclosure of his own with plenty of room.

Mexican taxidermist Hector Landa Velazquez has refused to say where he managed to buy the lion - or the two crocodiles and the spider monkey - that he had in his tiny van when he was stopped in the Mexican capital by police during a routine roadside check.

Velazquez admitted that he was waiting for the animals to die of dehydration, saying that killing them with a gun or sharp instrument would have made a mess of the skin, and even poisoning was not good for a lion as the fur tended to fall out after death.

As a result he decided to wait for it to die from starvation and dehydration, but was caught while taking the nearly dead animals to his place of business.

The animal's new keepers say that all of the animals, especially the lion, were traumatized by their experiences, but that the lion has quickly made itself at home in its spacious new enclosure and was recovering quickly on a diet of fresh meat.

Mexico City's chief crime prevention officer, Leticia Varela, explained: "The vehicle was stopped for a routine check. When police officers searched the van, they found two crocodiles each about 40 inches long, a spider monkey, a living male lion, and another dead lion which had been stuffed. The lion and monkey were in a complete state of malnutrition, beaten, and in a very bad state of health."

Prosecutors say Velazquez is facing up to 25 years in jail for illegal wildlife trafficking and animal cruelty.