Mexico City - More than 100 animals were rescued from overcrowded, abusive conditions at a private zoo in the state of Puebla, Mexican authorities said last week.

Acting in response to citizen complaints, inspectors reviewed the Club de los Animalitos zoo in the city of Tehuacan and found big cats, bears, buffalo and more living in tiny enclosures with no climate control, the Federal Environmental Prosecutor's Office said in a statement.

Photos released by the office, known as Profepa for its initials in Spanish, showed tigers and other large felines in narrow cages stacked on top of each other. Profepa said the pens lacked proper flooring, and in some cases, the animals' waste was falling on top of others.

"Additionally there is no safety for the visiting public and the animals themselves, due to the lack of a barrier separating one from the other," the statement said. "It is possible to access the wildlife specimens simply by sticking a hand into the enclosure."

Inspectors also found irregularities with the zoo's master plan and other paperwork, along with deficiencies in feeding, veterinary care and staff levels for a collection of such size.

The cramped conditions were said to have provoked aggressive behavior, fights and injuries to some animals. A total of 101 were seized: 92 as a result of "serious breaches of proper treatment," and nine whose legal provenance could not be established. They included more than 40 big cats, a half-dozen monkeys, two grizzly bears, antelope, bison and birds.