Baghdad Zoo

VeganMegan · 05-07-2003, 11:03 AM

War ravages once-thriving Baghdad zoo

By Moni Basu
Cox News Service
(05-07-03)

BAGHDAD -- They used to live in a palace with former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's son, Odai, but Tuesday, the two cheetahs peered out helplessly from small, fly-infested cages.

The zookeepers say Odai Hussein used to starve the cheetahs, then watch them feast on live people. But as zoo employee Jaafar Tahb played with the cats, they appeared as tame as household Siamese.

U.S. troops had caught the big cats roaming along the Tigris River after the bombing stopped in Baghdad and brought them to the zoo, now guarded by Charlie Company, part of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division.

Next to the cheetahs, a stray dog shared a space with hungry lion cubs that it had been brought in to nurse. In another cage, Saedia, a 30-year-old blind brown bear nicknamed "Boo-boo" by American soldiers, paced back and forth in the hot afternoon. These days, she sleeps huddled in a fetal position.

Six-hundred-and-fifty animals once attracted thousands of visitors to Baghdad's zoo, in the heart of al-Zawra entertainment park. Today, the cages house only the cheetahs, 10 lions, six lion cubs, two tigers, three wild boars, a few ostriches, a badger and a tortoise.

The animals are hungry, sick and traumatized.

...continued here...

misanthropy · 05-08-2003, 11:05 AM

This saddens me... their lives were not that great to begin with being in zoo, but now it's even more tragic. Animals are also victims of war.

VeganMegan · 05-30-2003, 08:24 AM

South African woman leads relief team for Baghdad zoo

SA woman leads relief team for Baghdad zoo
May 30, 2003

By Melanie Gosling

Mariette Hopley, a former major in the SA Air Force who retired to run a shark cage diving business, flew to Iraq yesterday to help save animals in the war-battered Baghdad Zoo.

She will lead an emergency relief team assembled by the International Fund for Animal Welfare who will restore the zoo's infrastructure and make changes to give the animals a better life.

After the war in Iraq the zoo animals were left without food and water and looters stole most of the equipment.

"The zoo's in the middle of a badly bombed area and the infrastructure's shot. The animals are in concrete cages like a 19th century zoo which needs to be changed. We're going to bring in fencing and enlarge the cages to give them more room. There's nothing in the monkeys' cage. We'll put in a few ropes and branches for them to play on.

full story

05-07-2003, 11:03 AM	#1
VeganMegan Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Northeast Ohio Posts: 1,073	Baghdad Zoo War ravages once-thriving Baghdad zoo By Moni Basu Cox News Service (05-07-03) BAGHDAD -- They used to live in a palace with former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's son, Odai, but Tuesday, the two cheetahs peered out helplessly from small, fly-infested cages. The zookeepers say Odai Hussein used to starve the cheetahs, then watch them feast on live people. But as zoo employee Jaafar Tahb played with the cats, they appeared as tame as household Siamese. U.S. troops had caught the big cats roaming along the Tigris River after the bombing stopped in Baghdad and brought them to the zoo, now guarded by Charlie Company, part of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division. Next to the cheetahs, a stray dog shared a space with hungry lion cubs that it had been brought in to nurse. In another cage, Saedia, a 30-year-old blind brown bear nicknamed "Boo-boo" by American soldiers, paced back and forth in the hot afternoon. These days, she sleeps huddled in a fetal position. Six-hundred-and-fifty animals once attracted thousands of visitors to Baghdad's zoo, in the heart of al-Zawra entertainment park. Today, the cages house only the cheetahs, 10 lions, six lion cubs, two tigers, three wild boars, a few ostriches, a badger and a tortoise. The animals are hungry, sick and traumatized. ...continued here...

05-30-2003, 08:24 AM	#3
VeganMegan Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Northeast Ohio Posts: 1,073	South African woman leads relief team for Baghdad zoo South African woman leads relief team for Baghdad zoo SA woman leads relief team for Baghdad zoo May 30, 2003 By Melanie Gosling Mariette Hopley, a former major in the SA Air Force who retired to run a shark cage diving business, flew to Iraq yesterday to help save animals in the war-battered Baghdad Zoo. She will lead an emergency relief team assembled by the International Fund for Animal Welfare who will restore the zoo's infrastructure and make changes to give the animals a better life. After the war in Iraq the zoo animals were left without food and water and looters stole most of the equipment. "The zoo's in the middle of a badly bombed area and the infrastructure's shot. The animals are in concrete cages like a 19th century zoo which needs to be changed. We're going to bring in fencing and enlarge the cages to give them more room. There's nothing in the monkeys' cage. We'll put in a few ropes and branches for them to play on. full story

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05-08-2003, 11:05 AM	#2
misanthropy meow! Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Toronto, Ontario (Canada) Posts: 3,238	This saddens me... their lives were not that great to begin with being in zoo, but now it's even more tragic. Animals are also victims of war.