| Date opened | 1986[1] |
|---|---|
| Location | Qalqilya, Palestinian West Bank |
| Land area | 2 hectares (4.9 acres) |
| Number of animals | 170 |
Qalqilya Zoo is a small 2-hectare (4.9-acre) zoo in the Palestinian farming city of Qalqilya on the western edge of the West Bank.[2][3] Established in 1986, it is the only municipal zoo in the West Bank.[1]
Considered the foremost tourist attraction in Qalqilya, there are about 170 animals at the zoo, which also houses a Natural History Museum, children's entertainment park, and on-site restaurant. Before the Israeli military closure of the West Bank and the encirclement of Qalqilya by the Israeli West Bank barrier, there was an average of 3,000 visitors per year. The numbers have since dropped significantly, though the site remains locally popular.[4]
The zoo was the brainchild of a former Qalqilya mayor who came to be poorly regarded by most Palestinians because he is considered to have been a collaborator with Israel.[5] Israeli zoos helped to stock it and it was designed to be a symbol of Arab-Israeli cooperation.[6] When it opened in 1986, the zoo was considered "a jewel in the crown of Palestinian national institutions".[1] Maarouf Zahran, Qalqilya's mayor in 2004, said that in its early days the zoo was so popular that it was expanded by the municipality to accommodate the increasing flow of visitors.[4]
Before the construction of the separation barrier, which completely encircles the town of Qalqilya, both Israelis and Palestinians from other areas were visitors to the zoo.[1][6] Before the Second Intifada began in 2000, visitors came from as far away as the Gaza Strip.[6] Once it started, Palestinians from outside Qalqilya were prevented from visiting, until 2003, when Israel began allowing group visits arranged in advance.[6] Israelis require special permission to visit Qaqilya since the barrier's construction, and the hundreds of checkpoints between Palestinian villages in the West Bank mean that many Palestinians are prevented from visiting as well. Before the restrictions on travel, annual revenues had totalled 600,000 Cdn a year, but in 2003, revenues were one-third that amount.[1]
The zoo's survival is attributed to "the hard work and dedication of its resident veterinarian, Dr Sami Khadr, and his team of staff".[5] Like the population of the town of Qalqilya, it has see tough times during the Second Intifada. A Palestinian child playing outside the main entrance of the zoo on a public holiday was killed by indiscriminate fire which discouraged visitors there for some time.[5]
Some of the zoo's animals were casualties of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict between 2000 and 2004, and could not be replaced because of the restrictions on movement and financial difficulties. Brownie, a male giraffe purchased from South Africa for 19,500 Cdn, died after running into a pole while trying to escape the sound of gunfire. Ruti, his pregnant partner who was traumatized by his death, miscarried her baby 10 days later.[1] Three zebras, purchased for 2,600 Cdn each, died after inhaling tear gas during a 2002 demonstration at a high school adjacent to the zoo.[1][7] Khader came up with creative solutions to continue entertaining and educating visitors. With knowledge of taxidermy, he decided to preserve some of the animals, including Brownie, his unborn calf, the zebras, a monkey, wildcats and snakes.[1]
Since its inception, the zoo has benefited from the help of Motke Levison, an Israeli veterinarian, who consults with Khader by phone and meets him in neutral locations to deliver emergency medical supplies for animals. Because of this belief in the zoo's importance to the people and children of Qalqilya and the West Bank, Levison approached the Israeli Association of Zoos to develop an assistance plan to deliver new animals to the zoo.[1]
Three lions, three ibex desert goats and two zebras were donated by the Ramat Gan Safari park in September 2004.[7]
The three lions, which are castrated and were being shunned by other lions in the Ramat Gan park, were originally supposed to have been transferred to Qalqilya in 2000, but the outbreak of the Second Intifada delayed the delivery.[8] Saeed Daoud, director of the Qalqilya Zoo, dubbed the three lions, who were named Jafer, Jaras and Naboko, "the kings of peace."[4]
The other animals were sent as a gift to help replace the animals killed during Israeli army raids, including the zebras who succumbed to tear gas inhalation.[7] According to Khadr, the Ramat Gan zoo had also sent monkeys, an ostrich, and raccoons in prior deliveries during the intifada.[8] He noted his pleasure that unlike the ostrich, who was held up at the checkpoint entrance to the town for hours, this larger delivery was allowed through without delay.[7]
The zoo has a range of animals including lions, brown bears, crocodiles, ostriches, camels, deers, 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. Khader takes care of the animals, with a typical day including an inspection of the hippo's teeth, scratching of lions' noses, and playing ball with a baby baboon named Rambo.[3]
The zoo is described in an article in The Guardian in December 2003 as "one of the West Bank's more pleasant surprises [...] there is a small but beautiful landscaped park. There is a large swimming pool packed with children. And amid the trees, in spacious, clean enclosures, a lioness, an ostrich, a family of bears, a pool full of crocodiles."[5] The animals have ample room to move around with some enclosures as big as those in the London Zoo.[6]
The zoo can be reached by taking a service taxi from the city center for a cost of 5 Israeli new shekel. The entrance fee is 5 NIS and there is a restaurant on-site. The zoo also has a small children's entertainment park with a large swimming pool.[2][6] Schoolchildren can also take tours of, "the colorful, highly eccentric Natural History Museum."[3]
Two other zoos in the Palestinian territories are located in the Gaza Strip: the Rafah Zoo (destroyed during Operation Rainbow in May 2004), and the Gaza Zoo.[4]
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