Baghdad Zoo

Baghdad Zoo is a 200-acre site within Al-Zawraa Park that opened in 1971. Its most documented story is its near-destruction during the 2003 invasion and the rescue effort that followed, when only about 35 of an estimated 650 to 700 animals survived.

Da non perdere

• The scale of the 200-acre grounds within Al-Zawraa Park
• The rescue story following the zoo's near-destruction in 2003
• The account of Mandor, a Siberian tiger once owned by Uday Hussein, and Saida, a blind brown bear
• Landscape plantings that include eucalyptus, olive, and date palms

Biglietti e tour

Modi per visitare Baghdad Zoo

Il modo più economicoLagos Zoo Admission Ticket4★ · 184 viaggiatori~24 oreDa$22 a personaVedi date →Migliore giornata interaEntry ticket to Hoo Zoo and Dinosaur World in Telford4.8★ · 830 viaggiatori~8 oreCancellazione gratuitaDa$27 a personaVedi date →Più votatoAustralia Zoo Day Trip from Brisbane4.9★ · 446 viaggiatori~9 oreCancellazione gratuitaDa$136 a personaVedi date →

Come arrivare

Da sapere prima di andare

• The zoo occupies part of Al-Zawraa Park in Baghdad.
• Lawrence Anthony and Graham Spence recount the animal-rescue effort in the book Babylon's Ark.
• The documented park plantings include eucalyptus, olive, and date palms.

Un po' di storia

The zoo was built in 1971 under Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr. It suffered from the United Nations Iraq sanctions after the first Gulf War, which limited food, medicines, and vaccines. Saddam Hussein closed the zoo for renovations in spring 2002. During the 2003 invasion, only about 35 of the original 650–700 animals survived. Zoo staff suspended feeding in early April 2003 when Fedayeen Saddam troops took defensive positions around the zoo. Looters tore open cages and took animals for food. Remaining animals were found starving and thirsty, including Mandor, a Siberian tiger that was Uday Hussein's personal property, and Saida, a blind brown bear. South African conservationist Lawrence Anthony arrived eight days after the invasion to help rescue the animals, working with zoo directors Dr. Adel Salman Mousa and Dr. Husham Mohamed Hussan. U.S. Army Captain William Sumner of the 354th Civil Affairs Brigade improved security and appointed Anthony interim zoo administrator. The zoo reopened on July 20, 2003, with 86 animals, including all 19 surviving lions. In 2008, the zoo had grown to about 800 animals, mostly birds, with only two female lions left from the original 22. That year, two tiger cubs named Hope and Riley were donated from a North Carolina conservation center. By 2009, the zoo reported about 1,070 animals.