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Alexandria Zoo Alexandria Zoo - August 2009

Discussion in 'Egypt' started by devilfish, 13 Nov 2009.

  1. devilfish

    devilfish Well-Known Member

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    Alexandria’s first ‘zoo’ was built by Ptolemy II over two thousand years ago. Today’s zoo was opened in 1958 and hasn’t changed much at all since. I think that architecturally, the zoo is brilliantly structured in that it is built on two levels, the upper level originally housing animals from hotter climates, with more temperate animals living on the lower level, where cool air is channeled down, thus reducing the need for any kind of air-conditioning in one of the world’s hottest countries.

    Alexandria lies on the edge of the Nile Delta, where the delta meets the desert and the sea. The cooling sea breeze gives it a very pleasant climate much akin to that of San Diego. By manipulating the air flow, the architects managed to increase the range of animals kept by the zoo. The exhibits were also built as great attractions in themselves; the lion house has amazing acoustics, designed to resonate every growl and roar into a fearful noise (unfortunately, they still promote this today, and keepers often cause the lions to roar just for the public’s enjoyment.) The old polar bear exhibit is another showcased attraction; designed to look like a glacier, the small enclosure had very bright signs, as well as cool showers and a pool for the polar bears to use. There are more, which I will mention later.

    Sadly, most of the zoo’s exhibits are now empty or in disrepair; up until a few years ago, the zoo tried to fill every empty space with animals but had been stopped by financial constraints. Though it currently means that there are no rhinos, giraffes, striped hyenas, polar bears (to name but a few), it has greatly reduced overcrowdedness.

    The zoo has four main entrances, one in each corner, but doesn’t have an official map. I was lucky enough to find one in a kid’s guide to Alexandria a few years ago, but if you ask for a map at the entrance they just tell you to ‘walk that way, then go round to the left and you’ll see the animals.’

    I just want to point out that most ‘cages’ at the zoo are iron-barred and concrete-floored, and that by far the most numerous animals in the zoo (perhaps with the exception of the zebra finches) are cats; strays are encountered on every corner and in pretty much every empty enclosure, along with some which aren’t empty.

    I think I’ll start by outlining the route we took this summer. On entry, after paying a very small fee for your tickets, you curve round part of the waterfowl pond, a large pond with a fountain and some trees on an island in the middle. The pond is home to several white pelicans (which you can feed), swan geese, domestic geese and ducks and the odd wild egret who flies in occassionally. There used to be a single black swan too, which was the highlight of this pond for me.

    On the right are two single hippo enclosures. Though not huge, they are each of a reasonable size for a single hippo. You can feed the hippo outside or enter the house and feed one of them up close.
    Also next to the waterfowl pond is a pair of enclosures, each with a large pool, one for flamingos and one for white storks. After passing a cage for a family of olive baboons, stairs lead down to the lower level.

    This corner of the lower level focuses on bears; though they don’t have a polar bear anymore, the zoo still houses a pair of brown bears (alledgedly from Europe) called Karim and Karima, as well as a lone Asiatic Black bear. Feeding is again an option; the bears spend most of their time sitting waiting for food and can reach up on their hind legs, roar and stick their tongues out on command for food. Just a few years ago there used to be two pairs of brown bears, a sun bear, a polar bear and three or four Asiatic Black bears. Most of the bear cages are now empty, but a spotted hyena pair has been moved in to one of them. Opposite the bears is a series of rarely-noticed cages; the first is a small cage which holds a very shy red fox, I was lucky to see it at all. The next is even smaller and holds a raccoon. The third is a large round cage containing Egyptian Jackals, one of my favourite animals at the zoo. These critically endangered canids have long been considered a subspecies of the grey wolf, but more recent genetic tests show them to be more likely a subspecies of the golden jackal, if not a species in their own right. With far fewer than 50 estimated to be left in the wild, Egypt really need to work on establishing the genetic purity of these animals and on managing their captive population with the hope of conserving this fantastic creature. The jackals have a shelter inside their cage, and this year was one of the first that I actually saw them running around outside the shelter.

    A small paddock for a pair of Dromedary camels is nearby, and children can ride the camels around the paddock. The Giraffe house is next, with a reasonably large paddock for a solitary giraffe, but unfortunately the giraffe died recently; they have since fenced off the near end of the giraffe paddock and keep some odd-looking goats there (which can also be fed.)

    Further along is the sealion pool, which used to house two sealions but there is now only one. Again, visitors are welcome to enter the enclosure and feed the sealion which jumps out of the water on command. Next to the sealion enclosure is a small aviary for some sacred ibis, and there’s a shetland pony for children to ride should they wish. A series of paddocks on the left hold varieties of lechwe and there is another Shetland pony / horse paddock for children to ride.

    After passing by derelict hyena enclosures and duck ponds, Karima, the old Asian Elephant, comes into view. Apparently she has been chained to the ground with the same chain for over 35 years – the first time we visited, it was pleasing to see that she was not tied down to anything (even though there was a chain around her foot, acting as a collar). She is occassionally allowed into the elephant house but I only saw this once, over 10 years ago. Otherwise, she has to stand in the sun in her small, concrete-floored enclosure, and is very restricted in her movements. An Australian-based charity (Animal Aid Abroad) campaigned and a couple of years ago managed to pay for a corrugated iron shelter for a small portion of the enclosure. Kids used to be able to ride her, but I haven’t seen anyone go in with her for several years; you can still feed her though.

    Next up is the old white rhino paddock, now occupied by a group of camels. There hasn’t been a rhino here for many years, but I was told that the last one they had was very special and worth a lot of money. You were able to ride and feed her and she had a very nice temperament, a magnificent creature.

    After climbing back up some stairs to the upper level, there’s a mock-rock hill for some Barbary sheep, and the lion house is on the right. The house has a small paddock on each side, both of which are surrounded by a very deep (but now dry) moat. This for me is one of the few cases where partial neglect of the exhibit has benefitted the animals – by leaving the moat empty, the lions and tigers have more space in their outdoor enclosures to use; but the moat has also become very dirty and littered with peoples’ rubbish. The paddock on the left was formerly used exclusively for tigers, whereas the one on the right was just for lions. This year, lions were in both.

    Inside the old lion house, which I’ve already mentioned for its acoustics, the cages are tiny, about the size of holding cages at most zoos. The cages on the left are usually for lions, and those on the right for tigers, leopards, black panthers and lion cubs but this year, apart from those for a solitary, skinny tiger and a lone black panther, all cages were devoted to lions. Though I’d like to think that all the animals get some sort of time outdoors, it does seem unlikely, especially for the black panther and perhaps the tiger too. Any animals in the lion house can be fed, they can roar on command, or stand on their hind legs to reach for food. The keepers seem to take great pleasure in organising sessions in which all the cats roar; I must admit that it is a very impressive sound in such a specialised building, but it is incredibly saddening to hear.

    Almost in the centre of the zoo is a kind of observation tower – it’s closed to the public so I don’t know what its for, but it seems to have fallen into disrepair in recent years. Surrounding this tower are paddocks for hoofstock, including a pair of zebras, scimitar-horned oryx and a single nilgai. Just off to one side is a small cafe, next to a building which houses the zoo’s museum (which has been closed for several years) and the reptile house. The reptile house only has about twelve vivaria, but each one is larger than the average UK reptile house vivarium. Included in the collection are juvenile nile crocodiles of various ages (the larger ones are kept with large red-eared sliders), young terrapins, african beauty snakes, african spurred tortoises, a horned desert viper, several egyptian cobras, a garter snake, and a vivarium for tortoises (mostly spur-thighed, but with two Egyptian tortoises – several years ago there were many, many more.)

    Around the other side of the tower, spotted hyenas and surplus lions are kept in a set of small cages; feeding still possible. Nearby, a series of aviary-type cages hold various hawks, eagles and falcons, African crested porcupines, Egyptian mongooses, as well as different breeds of cats and dogs. Following the path round, there’s a group of small cages holding several monkeys, namely grivets and a large patas. These can also be fed, but people like to taunt them too. Next is the monkey mountain, a huge mock-rock structure which is home to a large troop of Hamadryas baboons. People can buy peanuts to throw in for the baboons, but they also like to throw in rubbish and some potentially lethal items (the lit cigarette which I mentioned in the ‘Introduction’ thread was thrown into here.) Watching the baboons is very interesting, but we did see some spine-chilling behaviour at times (mainly from the baboons this time, but in the past, the most disturbing stuff tends to come from the zoo visitors).

    Behind the baboons’ mountain is a set of cages for surplus grivets, rowdy male hamadryas baboons and an ageing family of capuchins, all of which can be fed. Next along the path is a small fairground with dodgems, a merry-go-round, a ferris wheel and a playground area. Behind all this is an enclosure for peafowl of all colours, along with a grey-crowned crane. A series of sandy paddocks for ostriches, emu, dorcas gazelle and llamas lead towards the now empty chimpanzee house; a small building with two small cages just outside.

    Leading away from the old chimpanzee house is a set of aviaries for loads of helmeted guineafowl, along with a large bird of prey cage, which used to be a mixed exhibit with eagles and vultures but is now empty. Finally, before getting back to the beginning, there are a series of cages now used for pigeons and doves, cockatiels, budgies and zebra finches.

    All in all, the zoo needs some serious work; I only discovered zoochat a few years ago following a google search for alexandria zoo, and it had been described here as ‘the worst zoo in the world’. People are trying to change this, and I recommend taking a look at Animal Aid Abroad website: Animal Aid Abroad - Helping animals around the world who are doing as much as they can to improve conditions at the zoo.

    Sorry it was such a long report, I needed to include enough detail for the photos and map to make some kind of sense but went a bit over the top. Photos from around 2000 onwards should be up soon.
     
  2. Jacobea

    Jacobea Well-Known Member

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    Nice thorough report :) Having had a look at the photos you've posted so far, it definately seems to be a brutal, old fashioned zoo, although there appears to be the odd decent enclosure in there.

    That's clever about the natural air conditioning, although I still pity that poor polar bear (and his fellow ursine cousins) in his horrid pit :(
     
  3. clm1950

    clm1950 Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    Any news about how the current unrest in the country is affecting the zoo?
     
  4. devilfish

    devilfish Well-Known Member

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    Unfortunately not, and it's going to be a while before any damage can be assessed. With the country in chaos and most civilians either protesting in the streets or locked up in their own homes, I doubt that the zoo is currently open to the public. High fences around its perimeter should prevent looting (I doubt that much would be considered worth stealing anyway). I'll find out in the summer as a visit I'd planned for February has been put off until then.

    Although it's along a main road, I don't see much reason for protesters/riot police to be causing many problems around the zoo; however, I've not got much idea of the distribution of the Alexandrian protests, and it seems that few places are completely safe. I expect the 'unrest' will go on for at least several days, and until it's over I don't think it'll be possible to judge the condition of the zoo.
     
  5. clm1950

    clm1950 Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    Egypt is in chaos. KAREEMA is the lone elephant in Alexandria Zoo, which is close to the city centre where violence has erupted. Facebook report today from Animal Aid Abroad (Australia), whose "main purpose is still to improve the conditions and treatment of animals in Egypt." - " ... apparently all animals at the zoo are okay incl...uding Kareema, but very distressed by all the noise and gunfire going on nearby. There is also some concern about the food for animals running out if they cannot get more in."
     
  6. devilfish

    devilfish Well-Known Member

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    I visited the zoo earlier this week. On comparison with my most recent visits nearly two years ago, things seem to have deteriorated more than I would otherwise have expected. Sick and injured animals were on show with nothing being done about them, and despite a small increase in entry fees, and a healthy number of zoo visitors, I struggled to see any improvement at all.

    On Monday I was relieved to find the chimpanzee cages still empty, but a new sign led me to wonder whether they were still about. Indeed, on Tuesday the chimpanzee house was open to the public and two old males were being jeered at by the visitors inside, with a third male in a holding cage in a side-room. This was horrible to see, and the sight of the agitated chimps was really unpleasant. Only three jackals were on display on Monday, crammed into a tiny cage near the large one which had previously held them (now empty). Crappy animal management. One of the jackals looked like a very typical golden jackal, but I'm not sure - I'll get photos up at some point. All the jackals were hidden away on Tuesday, as was the horned viper. Species diversity at the zoo has dropped remarkably, the lion house (which is now falling apart) housed only lions and a single black leopard, and the majority of residents in the reptile house were Egyptian cobras.

    Unfortunately I didn't get to visit Giza Zoo this trip, but there have clearly been animal transfers between the two zoos, with Alexandria now displaying a pair of Dorcas gazelles, American black bears, a blue monkey and a large bull Patagonian sealion.
     
  7. vogelcommando

    vogelcommando Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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