CONDITIONS IMPROVE AT KABUL ZOO

[Guest guest]

http://news./s/chitribts/20050922/ts_chicagotrib/zoosconfinesslightlyfr\

iendlier  

Zoo's confines slightly friendlier By Kim Barker Tribune foreign correspondent

Thu Sep 22, 9:40 AM ET

 

 

 

The man picked up a rock and threw it at the monkey cage in the zoo. " Stand

aside, " he yelled, before grabbing four more stones and chucking them at the

monkeys.

 

 

 

Nearby, workers set up a new climbing frame on the monkey island and put up

higher fences to protect the animals. But visitors crowded into the one spot

that had not yet been fenced and tossed rocks and garbage inside.

 

" Most people do that, " said Bahruddin, 21, a fortuneteller who like many Afghans

uses only one name. " I throw stones because I want to have fun. "

 

These are the two faces of the Kabul Zoo, made famous by the plight of its

one-eyed lion and other animals after the fall of the Taliban. Since then there

have been many positive changes--new animals, new fences, more veterinary help,

more workers and less filth. The two new lions look healthy. The birds now have

perches to sit on instead of concrete floors.

 

A sign reads: " Dear citizens. Animals are the creation of God. While you're

watching, do not bother them. "

 

But problems remain. People throw rocks, cigarettes and trash, primarily at the

monkeys and bears. In the past year, six pigs have died. A bear died after

swallowing plastic bags thrown into its cage. A gazelle died. The bear's mate

broke out of her cage in July.

 

In many ways, the Kabul Zoo is a microcosm of all that has happened in

Afghanistan since the Taliban fled in late 2001. The world's attention has

turned elsewhere. Violence still is ingrained in people. Large amounts of money

have been donated, and large amounts have been spent. But change is slow.

 

" If we're serious about this place, we've got to be in for the long haul, " said

veterinarian David Sherman, the country program director for the relief agency

Dutch Committee for Afghanistan, who also has helped set up veterinary services

at the zoo. " Things are not going to change overnight. "

 

Tiger pelts, flamingo kabobs

 

The zoo had more than 700 animals 20 years ago, but that number dwindled during

the country's wars. Fighters killed the two tigers for their pelts. They made

kabobs out of a flamingo and a crane. One day they wanted to see how many

bullets it would take to kill the elephant. The answer: 40.

 

People stole the wooden fences from the zebra enclosure to feed fires. The zoo

museum and restaurant were rocketed, along with other buildings. Animals died of

starvation. Marjan the lion was largely blinded in a grenade attack.

 

By the time the Taliban fled, all that remained were a few vultures, owls,

wolves, a bear and Marjan. The bear and Marjan later died.

 

The North Carolina Zoo spearheaded international help for the Kabul Zoo,

collecting about $400,000 from 6,000 donors, mainly in the U.S., said David

Jones, director of the zoo in Asheboro, N.C.

 

The London Zoo and other animal-welfare groups sent experts to Kabul. Some said

the zoo had received more than enough money to rebuild.

 

But it was not so. A major complication was the decision of the Chinese

government in 2002 to donate animals against the wishes of the international zoo

community. The Afghans agreed, though, and took two lions, two bears, two pigs,

two deer and one wolf. The pigs mated, giving birth to five more.

 

The first Chinese bear died a year ago, after swallowing a plastic bag filled

with banana peels and a man's shoe heel, said Abdullatif Shahnouri, the deputy

zoo director.

 

In January, three of the Chinese pigs died. A fourth died three weeks later, and

Sherman sent samples to the U.S. Army that tested positive for rabies. Experts

believe stray dogs bit the pigs. The Army later provided rabies vaccines for all

the zoo animals.

 

Other animals died, including a gazelle that Sherman initially treated

successfully. The gazelle most likely suffered from a systemic infection, but

Kabul has no equipment to make such a diagnosis. It does not even have scales to

weigh the animals, let alone modern medicines.

 

In April, South African zoologist Brendan Whittington-Jones arrived in Kabul as

a contractor for the North Carolina Zoo.

 

His first reaction: " Oh my God. " He was amazed at how dirty the zoo was, and at

how busy it was--up to 5,000 people visit on Fridays, the weekend holiday here.

 

`It's gotten so much better'

 

Since then, the zoo has become cleaner, fences have been set up and painted, and

some animals have nicer cages. But in July, the second Chinese bear broke out of

her cage and killed two of the three remaining Chinese pigs.

 

Whittington-Jones, out of the country at the time, said this episode actually

showed the zoo had improved; zookeepers surrounded the bear with torches and

forced it back into a cage.

 

" I would've thought that the bear would have just got shot, " he said.

 

Only $50,000 remains from the money from North Carolina.

 

Experts agree that $50,000 is not enough to fix everything at the zoo. Much more

needs to be done. And some zoo officials are talking about expanding and even

getting more animals. It's not clear where more money will come from.

 

But still, the zoo is one of the few places in Kabul where people go for fun. On

a recent afternoon, a family laid out a picnic on a blanket near the lovebirds.

Three sisters ran through the zoo, with smiles and no head scarves. A 6-year-old

boy saw a lion for the first time.

 

" It's gotten so much better here, " said Safiullah, 30, a baker who visits

weekly. " And really, we don't have any place else to go. "

 

----------

 

kbarker

 

Email Story IM Story Discuss Printable View