Time to reevaluate the Sana’a Zoo?

The longer I live in Sana’a, the more I realize I don’t know about the city.

Every couple of weeks I hear of different things to do: a pseudo-Irish pub, German theater, football training, and now, a zoo.

Andrés, a Spanish friend of mine, agreed to come along. Other expat friends were less keen, stating that they were sure the zoo would be a glorified park of animal rights abuses. But, Andrés and I were of the mentality that if you never go you’ll never know. We didn’t want to jump to conclusions.

Why couldn’t Sana’a keep a clean zoo, possibly with conservation projects to help diversity in Yemen, which is actually quite rich in fauna? There was an air of Western arrogance over assumptions that we would find a cruel animal prison.

But, inevitably, we did. If images of small cages, full to the brim with sickly looking animals, drinking dirty water comes to mind, you’ll be right. But, there were some more specific issues Andrés and I had.

After seeing the lion cages – supposedly descendants of the Imam’s private collection – Andrés and I walked down to a series of smaller cages where there were some caracals, jackals, hyenas and honey badgers. Andrés was keen to get good pictures so he sneakily climbed over the barrier and edged closer to the cage bars.

Eventually, we were spotted. Used to strict, even superfluous, health and safety laws in Europe we thought we would be moved along and scolded for endangering Andrés’ hands, as he photographed within biting distance of the jackals.

The zookeeper walked down from a shaded park bench where he was sitting. We acted oblivious to our crime. But as he got closer, he promptly turned and signaled us to follow. Confused, we circled the cages to the rear and the zookeeper motioned us into a small blue door that led to the back of the cages–the area where the animals are fed.

Inside it stank, which was to be expected; this was a zoo. But when our new friend opened the door to the jackal’s cage we really were shocked. Four fully-grown jackals started running around frantically, provoked by our presence. The zookeeper saw fear fill our faces.

“Don’t worry, they’re scared of us,” he told us. That wasn’t hugely reassuring. Our next stop was the caracal, a type of wild cat. We were let into their cage as well.

The zookeeper wouldn’t allow us into the hyena cage, a room about the size of an elevator carriage. Instead, he took Andrés’ camera, opened the door to the room and stuck his arm through. The hyena started to growl, a deep hissing noise I’ve never heard. Our daredevil guide started replicating the noise to agitate the beast so he could get a good picture of his teeth. I was worried for his arm.

We decided to move on before someone died, so we thanked the zookeeper for the private tour and made our way over to the baboons.

This was where our hearts truly sank; the baboons were living on a rubbish tip. The outdoor enclosure was full of litter that had been thrown in by visitors, and the animals were crawling in it. Special chutes surround the cage where visitors are supposed to drop nuts, but instead they would climb up and give the baboons empty sweet wrappers through the wire mesh.

Most baboons were running around, fighting, playing and snatching food. But one sat motionless on a tire in the middle. Most of its fur had fallen out and its thick leathery skin clung only to bones, all the other baboons ignored it as if they knew its fate was sealed. Images of World War II concentration camp victims at the end of years of starvation came to mind. Why hadn’t this baboon been taken away for treatment?

I do see the value of zoos in Yemen. Most of the animals are wild-caught local species, and the zoo has the opportunity to educate Yemeni and foreign visitors on the wealth of wildlife in Arabia, and importantly, why it should be preserved. There are now information boards outside many of the cages, which is a good first step. David Stanton, who has studied the Arabian Leopard, suggests that the zoo be used to breed the rare species by constructing better leopard cages and training zoo staff.

The zoo is one of the greenest areas of Sana’a. When we went, sapling trees were being planted and visitors were sitting on the grass to enjoy an afternoon picnicking. There are playgrounds, flowerbeds and a café where visitors can buy fresh mango juice.

But, the priority for the zoo should be the animals’ welfare, and they are not getting the care they deserve. In 2001, the Breeding Center for Endangered Arabian Wildlife conducted a study on the health of the animals in Sana’a zoo. The report concluded that “most of the animals were in a good condition and had reasonable diets and housing but overstocking, poor handling and lack of preventative medicine compromised their welfare.”

Almost a decade later, I strongly suggest a new study.