- Title: EGYPT: Giza Zoo's new kangaroos delight residents of Cairo
- Date: 14th October 2009
- Summary: VISITORS LOOKING AT ANIMALS IN ZOO ENCLOSURES VISITORS LOOKING AT ASIAN ELEPHANT IN ITS ENCLOSURE
- Embargoed: 29th October 2009 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Egypt
- Country: Egypt
- Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
- Reuters ID: LVAUTQEKI0UWFITG90S0PWF68LR
- Story Text: For the first time in over fifteen years, visitors to the Cairo Zoo are being given a firsthand view of the world's largest marsupial, with the recent arrival of two Australian kangaroos.
The recent additions were secured for the bargain-basement price of two Egyptian hippos from a private Russian animal collector, via a Dutch intermediary, and have now become one of the star attractions at the Giza Zoo, Africa's oldest.
The once glorious Giza zoo has fallen into disrepair in recent years, losing its membership in the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), and the arrival of the female and male kangaroo is part of a wider effort to restore the Zoo's reputation and animal collection.
With the last kangaroo in residence dying from old age in the late 1990s, the zoo now has a female grey kangaroo, and, apparently for the first time, a male red kangaroo.
Kangaroos, like other marsupials, raise their young in a pouch, and hop on their powerful hind legs at speeds of up to 35 miles per hour.
Visitor Dallier Mostafa says she brought her kids to the zoo just to see the unusual antipodean couple.
"I came to the Zoo, let me say in the Name of God first, it has been a long time since I came to the zoo. I heard about a new animal called a Kangaroo, so I wanted to come to show it to the kids," she said.
But another visitor, Huwaida al-Agab, who is from Sudan, said that while she enjoyed the zoo, the kangaroos were old hat south of the border.
"The zoo is nice, it is my first time here, and it isn't like our one in Sudan, it's bigger, it's very nice and there are many animals here. But when I saw the kangaroo, well we have them in Sudan. You've just brought it here, but we've had them for a long time in Sudan," she said.
The head of Giza Zoo's central administration says that the hippo-kangaroo barter made it possible for the cash-strapped zoo to secure the pair of marsupials.
"He took a hippopotamus from us in exchange for the Kangaroo. Of course we benefited from this exchange, of course there is a difference in the price between the Kangaroo and the hippo, so we made him [the Dutch dealer] bear the burden of the transfer. So this means that the Giza Zoo did not pay anything in this exchange at all," said Dr. Nabil Sidqi.
While the Giza Zoo, built in 1891, was once the jewel in the crown of African zoos, it has been on a path to slow decline for years. Mismanagement culminated in its expulsion from WAZA in 2004, when an inspection team found the zoo to be below international standards.
In 2006, Egypt briefly closed the zoo after dozens of birds died, some from the bird flu virus that had just hit the most populous Arab country.
Two years ago, intruders broke into the zoo at night and slaughtered two camels, apparently to use parts of the animals for black magic.
But the management now has ambitious plans to bring the zoo back up to spec, including new enclosures for several animals to replace the antiquated Victorian-era cages.
Ticket prices will also be raised to reduce the number of visitors and improve the quality of the experience for those visiting the zoo.
Dr. Sidqi says that the overall goal is to make the zoo a place for more than just entertainment.
"The zoo today has become a place for learning, a place for education and instruction for all ages, from children to young people to educated people and even scholars," he said.
While progress is slow in bringing the zoo back up to international standards, there have been some early successes.
The zoo recently rejoined the African Union of Zoos, and an air-conditioning system installed in the bear enclosure last year has dramatically improved life for at least some of its occupants.
But after years of neglect, this fabled Cairo institution has a lot of work ahead before it is once again reputed for being a place of wonders, rather than the centre of shocking stories about the suffering of its residents. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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