CAIRO: It s a hot June day and the bears at the Giza Zoo are struggling to stay cool in the shade of their outdoor cages, their only relief a pool of water in the center of the pen.
By mid-summer, though, they should be resting comfortably as workers are scheduled to begin installing a new cooling system this week, the first visible signs of a complete overhaul designed to improve living conditions for the animals and repair the zoo s image locally and internationally.
The Giza Zoo, built in 1891, has gained an unwanted reputation amongst animal rights activists and international zoological organizations in recent years over the way its animals are housed and cared for.
In 2003, following complaints from the public, the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) conducted an investigation that resulted in the zoo’s suspension from the international body. Shortly thereafter its membership was terminated after dues went unpaid.
“We used to receive emails complaining about the situation, said Dina Zulficar of the Animal Welfare Awareness Research (AWAR) group, and one of the driving forces behind the renewal project.
Concerned by what they had been hearing and seeing, Zulficar and a small group of other animal rights activists began a campaign to improve conditions at the zoo late last year. Changes in top personnel at the Ministry of Agriculture, which is responsible for zoos, and at the zoo itself provided an opening.
“The previous management never let animal welfare groups in, because they thought we were just going to criticize, said Zulficar. “The current management is very cooperative.
The first priority was the zoo’s three Himalayan and nine Black bears, whose heavy fur coats made them particularly vulnerable to Egypt’s sweltering summers. Zulficar managed to convince EgyTrade, the local representatives of the Japanese firm Daikin, to donate the equipment and technical support for a cooling system that will include a closed chilled water system, cooled floors, and air-conditioned private quarters.
The renewal plan also calls for a new, modern chimpanzee enclosure (with construction to begin later this summer), added zoo security, and a long-planned redesign for the elephant habitat.
The Ministry of Culture will pay half of the more than LE 2 million cost of the new chimp enclosure, while sponsors are still being sought to cover the other half.
Dr. Nabil Sidqi, who was appointed zoo chairman last year, said officials are also looking into ways of reducing the vast number of visitors they receive, which totaled more than 5 million last year alone. It will be a difficult task given that a visit to the zoo is one of the most affordable forms of leisure and one of the only public green spaces in Cairo.
Some of the measures being considered are closing one day a week, and raising ticket prices, which now stand at just LE 1, although the latter proposal is a sensitive one, said Dr. Sidqi. “This is a political decision.
Foreign experts like Dr. Nick Lindsay, head of International Zoo Programs at the Zoological Society of London, have been brought in to offer advice and guidance. Lindsay, who is also on WAZA’s Ethics and Welfare Committee, was in town late last month to meet zoo officials and survey the progress being made.
Although his visit wasn’t officially sanctioned by WAZA, it did have the organization’s blessing.
“We’ve been trying for some years to get someone over here to work with them, but there was no willingness, whether it was the minister or the director of the zoo, Lindsay said. “The problems that are here are the same as at any other zoo. But there is certainly a determination to see change, and there is certainly a good skill base in the zoo with which to work.
Lindsay is careful not to criticize or lay blame, pointing out that the Giza Zoo – which was one of the founding members of WAZA – and its Victorian-era enclosures simply fell behind the times as standards evolved in line with contemporary ideas of what a zoo should be.
“Thirty years ago we had modern standards, 50 years ago we had modern standards, and those standards are not the same, they change, he explained.
As a preliminary step towards regaining admittance to WAZA, Giza has applied for membership in the regional African Association of Zoological Gardens and Aquaria (PAAZAB), itself a member of WAZA. If that bid is successful, they can then formally reapply to WAZA.
“The important thing is, within the next year, to show WAZA that the Giza Zoo is making that commitment to improve and to meet their standards, said Lindsay. “We know that takes a long time. It takes a long time for any zoo to start again, which is basically what they’re doing now.
