Qalqilya Zoo | |
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32°11′43″N34°58′15″E / 32.1953845°N 34.9707511°E | |
Date opened | 1986 [1] |
Location | Qalqilya, West Bank, Palestine |
Land area | 2 hectares (4.9 acres) |
No. of animals | 170 |
Qalqilya Zoo is a small 2-hectare (4.9-acre) zoo in the Palestinian city of Qalqilya on the western edge of the West Bank. [2] [3] Established in 1986, it is the only zoo in the State of Palestine. [1] The zoo houses 170 animals, a small Natural History museum, a children's entertainment park, and on-site restaurants.
The zoo was the brainchild of the former mayor of Qalqilya. Israeli zoos helped to stock it and it was designed as a symbol of Arab-Israeli cooperation. [4] When it opened in 1986, the zoo was considered a "jewel in the crown of Palestinian national institutions." [1] It became a popular attraction and was later expanded to accommodate the increasing flow of visitors, [6] which included both Arabs and Israelis. [7]
After the outbreak of the Second Intifada, visitors from outside Qalqilya were barred entry. In 2003, the Israeli authorities allowed group visits arranged in advance. [4] A child playing outside the main entrance of the zoo on a public holiday was killed by indiscriminate fire which led to a brief drop in visitors. [6] The zoo's survival has been attributed to the hard work and dedication of its resident veterinarian, Sami Khadr, and his staff. [6]
During the intifada, "Dubi", the zoo's only male giraffe, from South Africa, frightened by the sound of gunfire, was killed when it ran into a pole. [3] "Ruti", his pregnant partner, miscarried ten days later. [1] Both animals can now be seen stuffed at the zoo's museum. [5] In 2002, three zebras died after inhaling tear gas used to break up a demonstration at a high school adjacent to the zoo. [8] Mr. Khadr applied taxidermy to preserve some of the animals, including the giraffe, the unborn calf, the zebras, a monkey, wildcats and snakes. [1]
Since its inception, an Israeli veterinarian, Motke Levison, has helped out at the zoo, providing phone consultations and meeting with Khadr to deliver emergency medical supplies. Levison has served as a mediator, helping the zoo acquire new animals. [1] Three lions, three ibex desert goats and two zebras were donated by the Ramat Gan Safari park in September 2004. [8] The lions were meant to be transferred to Qalqilya in 2000, but the outbreak of the Second Intifada delayed the delivery. [9] Saeed Daoud, director of the Qalqilya Zoo, dubbed the three lions, who were named Jafer, Jaras and Naboko, "the kings of peace." [10] According to Khadr, the Ramat Gan zoo also sent him monkeys, an ostrich, and raccoons. [9]
The zoo houses lions, brown bears, crocodiles, ostriches, camels, deer, gazelles, zebras, birds, lizards, snakes, and monkeys of various types. [2] There is also a hippopotamus named Dubi, who shares his small concrete wading pool with a family of peacocks. [3] In December 2003, the zoo was described in The Guardian as "one of the West Bank's more pleasant surprises [...] there is a small but beautiful landscaped park. [...] And amid the trees, in spacious, clean enclosures, a lioness, an ostrich, a family of bears, a pool full of crocodiles." [6] The animals have ample room to move around with some enclosures as big as those in the London Zoo. [4]
The zoo can be reached by taking a service taxi from the city center. The zoo also has a children's entertainment park, part of which is inside what used to be a swimming pool. [2] [4]
After their deaths, animals from the zoo have been taxidermized by the resident veterinarian, a self-taught taxidermist. [5] School children are frequent visitors to the zoo's "colorful, highly eccentric Natural History Museum." [3] Almost 100 exotic animals are displayed in it. [5]
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Qalqilya or Qalqiliya is a Palestinian city in the West Bank which serves as the administrative center of the Qalqilya Governorate of the State of Palestine. In the 2017 census, the city had a population of 51,683. Qalqilya is surrounded by the Israeli West Bank wall, with a narrow gap in the east controlled by the Israeli military and a tunnel to the Palestinian town of Hableh. Qalqilya is under the administration of the Palestinian National Authority, while remaining under Israeli military occupation. Oranges are a major part of the city's economy.
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