Zoos in war zones
I have been reading Lawrence Anthony’s very interesting book on the problems faced by Bagdad Zoo in the first years of the Iraq War ”Bablyon’s Ark”. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Babylons-Ark-Incredible-Wartime-Baghdad/dp/0312358326
Why is it that zoos in war zones attract such enormous media interest? Obviously it is piteous to think of trapped animals being bombed, starving or being slaughtered for food in these situations. But equally our first sympathies and concerns must be for the adults and children who are casualties of war.
Is it the idea of being trapped within their enclosures, even more helpless than the humans around them?
Or is it that when the zoo gets plundered, when the animals so otherwise prized and protected by the surrounding city and its people are neglected to the point of agony and death, this is the ultimate symbol of civilisation itself breaking down?
Conversely, when a zoo in city that undergone huge conflict and destruction begins to re-establish itself, this is the first proof of stabilisation, the return of civic pride and ordinary living.
Kabul Zoo and Marjan the Lion was of course a huge story. Here are some links to other news items about zoos and wars.
Haifa Zoo in 2006 Israel – Lebanon conflicthttp://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/multimedia/s_463568.html
Belgrade Zoo in 1999 http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9905/29/belgrade.zoo/
Ueno Zoo in Japan during World War II: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ueno_Zoo
Berlin and Vienna suffered from allied bombing in World War II http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiergarten_Sch%C3%B6nbrunn
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiergarten_Sch%C3%B6nbrunn
One Response to “Zoos in war zones”
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Thank you for your positive comments on my book “Babylon’s Ark.”
In Baghdad hundreds of humanitarian organizations began streaming in after the main battles were over to care for people. In the beginning I was the only one there for the animals.
But as we know zoos are not only about animals. They are a microcosm of society where public interest in the animals generates funds which help the many zoo keepers and their families to survive as well. The staff of the Baghdad Zoo were in dire need of food, care, and assistance, and this had to be addressed urgently otherwise there would be no one to take help care of the animals. No one else was feeding the staff this so we dealt with it ourselves, in house, so to speak. So naturally people are always a very important part of all animal rescues.
I often get asked the question, and it is meant as a criticism, “Do you think animals more important than people.”
The question unmasks the unknowingness on the part of the questioner that mankind and the plant and animal kingdoms are entirely interdependent, each upon the other for their own survival. Except for a few obvious, and usually short term exceptions, it cannot be only one or the other. In the grand scheme of things we all have to learn to accord both man and nature equal status otherwise neither survives well, as is the worsening case on Earth at the moment.
Optimum survival of life on planet Earth requires of us that we take full responsibility for, and cooperate with other life forms.
Habitat orientated, educational Zoos which provide security for endangered species and much needed research facilities are an important componant part of our bridge to nature.
Thanking you.
Lawrence Anthony