EGYPT: Renovations for Cairo's declining Giza zoo helps animals escape severe summer heat

Record ID: 788728

  • Title: EGYPT: Renovations for Cairo's declining Giza zoo helps animals escape severe summer heat
  • Date: 10th August 2008
  • Summary: MORE OF VISITORS OUTSIDE BEAR CAGE
  • Embargoed: 25th August 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Egypt
  • Country: Egypt
  • Topics: Environment / Natural World,Lifestyle
  • Reuters ID: LVA760969D518T5DARCBF6P8YZ21
  • Story Text: For some of the residents of Cairo's Giza Zoo, the summer months can be particularly hard to bear.
    The dilapidated zoo has for some time been ill-equipped to care for animals like the American black bear, accustomed to colder climates.
    But a new plan to renovate the zoo is offering its caged residents the chance of a better life.
    After a fund-raising effort with several NGOs, a fan-cooling system for bears is already in place and indoor air-conditioning and a floor chilling system is planned.
    The bears now pad around their outdoor cages on a sweltering summer's day, sniffing at air that was once stifling but is suddenly cool and drizzly.
    Senior zookeeper Abdel Razek Mustafa says the bears are now much happier.
    "They're happy like this, they're very happy, and we feel they are happy because we deal with them every day. So we sense when the animal is happy or refreshed because of the fans and the air-conditioning. It is something new for them and it puts them in better spirits," he said.
    Air-conditioning for bears is part of efforts to revitalise Cairo's scruffy but historical Giza Zoo, in a bid to rejoin the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) after its exclusion in 2004. Other plans include an expanded chimpanzee enclosure and elephant house.
    Dina Zulfuqar, from the Society for Animal Protection, says the newly-renovated bear enclosure has received much international support.
    "We got extraordinary cooperation from international experts and organisations. They put forward the correct vision for how to deal with climate change, the rise in temperatures and the general impacts of global environmental changes on animals like bears, that are used to living in very cold conditions," Zulfuqar said.
    Giza Zoo was once among the crown jewels of African zoos. It was commissioned by Khedive Ismail of Egypt's royal family and opened in 1891 to showcase imported flowers, exotic plants and African wildlife.
    But it has been beset with problems in recent years -- from the slaughter of two camels by night-time intruders and the killing of two zookeepers by lions and an elephant to the infection of birds with the deadly H5N1 avian influenza.
    Animal rights activists also complain that the zoo's Victorian-style cages -- some more like display cases than homes for animals -- are too small and dingy, and that its zookeepers know little about animal health.
    One visitor to the zoo said the new cooling system had made a big difference.
    "Before they were sat in the same place, immobile. Now they are refreshed and they are moving. They are living well, a lot better than before," he said.
    Across the Nile river from central Cairo, the zoo is home to roughly 6,000 animals from 175 species, among them some rare species of oryx and crocodile and the Nile Lechwe, an antelope indigenous to south Sudan.
    But it has been on a path to slow decline for years.
    Two lions killed a zookeeper in 1993 after he left the outer door to their cage open while feeding them. They were then shot dead. Later, an elephant trampled and killed another zookeeper.
    More recently, a polar bear, miserable in the Cairo heat, was sent to the coastal city of Alexandria where zoo officials hoped it would fare better.
    The last of the giraffes perished in recent years, although the zoo hopes to replace them soon.
    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. The health ministry said then that the zoo had to slaughter more than 500 birds and drain its ponds.
    A year ago, intruders broke in under cover of darkness and slaughtered two camels. One of the men reportedly confessed after being caught that he had wanted to use parts of the camel for black magic.
    Then in 2007, a new director was named for the zoo, and signs of change now abound.
    In the reptile house, workers are building customised mini-jungle gyms for the lizards. Outside, the zoo is working to combine several monkey cages to give the animals more space.
    A larger habitat has been designed for the increasing number of chimps, including three who were recently confiscated from pet shops and a resort. But the zoo must find sponsors to pay 2.7 million Egyptian pounds (510,000 USD) for construction.
    Zoo officials also hope to build a new yard for the bears to roam, and already have funds in place for a new elephant house.
    Later this month, an official from the African Association of Zoos and Aquaria (PAAZAB) will inspect the zoo and make recommendations for further changes. Joining PAAZAB is a first step toward regaining membership in the world zoo body.
    For the zoo's long-suffering animals, even the small changes that have taken place so far are a step in the right direction.
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