Qalqilya Zoo is a small zoo covering an area of approximately 20,000 square metres in the Palestinian town of Qalqilya on the western edge of the West Bank.[1] The zoo was established in 1986 and until the opening of the Gaza Zoo, it was the only municipal zoo in the Palestinian territories.[2]
The zoo was the brainchild of a former Qalqilya mayor who came to be lowly regarded by most Palestinians because he is considered to have been a collaborator with Israel.[3] Israeli zoos helped to stock it and it was designed to be 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."[2]
Prior to the construction of the Israeli West Bank barrier, which completely encircles the town of Qalqilya, both Israelis and Palestinians from other towns were visitors to the zoo.[2][4] Before the Second Intifada began in 2000, some came from as far away as the Gaza Strip.[4] Once it started, Palestinians from outside Qalqilya were prevented from visiting until 2003, when Israel began allowing group visits arranged in advance to take place.[4] Since the barrier's construction, Israelis require special permission to visit Qaqilya 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 from these visits had totalled 600,000 Cdn a year, but in 2003, revenues were one-third that amount.[2]
The zoo's survival is attributed to the, "hard work and dedication of its resident veterinarian, Dr Sami Khadr, and his team of staff."[3] It has undergone tough times during the Second Intifada, as has the population in the town of Qalqilya. 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.[3]
Some of the zoo's animals also became 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 giraffe purchased from South Africa for 19,500 Cdn, died after running into a pole while trying to escape from the sound of gunfire. Ruti, his pregnant partner who was traumatized by his death, miscarried her baby 10 days later.[2] 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.[2][5] Khader came up with creative solutions to continue entertaining and educating visitors. With knowledge of taximdermy, he decided to preserve some of the animals, including Brownie, his unborn calf, the zebras, a monkey, wildcats and snakes.[2]
Since its inception, the zoo has also 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 te 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.[2]
Three lions, three ibex desert goats and two zebras were donated by the Ramat Gan Safari park in September 2004.[5] 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 had delayed the delivery.[6] The other animals were sent as a gift to help replace several animals killed during Israeli army raids, including the zebras who succumbed to tear gas inhalation.[5] According to Khadr, the Ramat Gan zoo had also sent monkeys, an ostrich, and raccoons in prior deliveries during the intifada.[6] He noted his pleasure that unlike the ostrich, who has held up at the checkpoint entrance to the town for hours, this larger delivery was allowed through without delay.[5]
The Zoo has a range of animals including lions, brown bears, crocodiles, ostriches, camels, deers, gazelles, zebras, birds, lizards, snakes, and even some monkeys of various types.[1] 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, the scratching of lions' noses, and playing ball with a baby baboon named Rambo.[7]
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."[3] 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 for a cost of 5 NIS. 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.[1][4]Schoolchildren can also takes tours of the, "colorful, highly eccentric Natural History Museum."[7]