By Gina Chon
The Baghdad Zoo today showed off two rare Bengal tiger cubs, which were donated by the Conservators’ Center animal sanctuary in North Carolina. The tigers, named Hope and Riley, weigh about 150 pounds each and arrived in Iraq on Aug. 4, traveling from the U.S. via DHL.

The zoo is an extremely popular attraction in Baghdad, with more than one million people visiting the zoo recently over a four-day period, when thousands of Shiites visited Baghdad for a religious holiday. That marks a big change from 2006, when the zoo averaged 120 visitors per day, according to Dr. Adel Salman Mousa, the zoo’s director.
On the way into the zoo, visitors can see vultures, eagles, peacocks and other kinds of birds. And next to the cage for the tiger cubs are two lions, which had been part of the zoo that Saddam Hussein’s son, Uday Hussein, owned when his father was in power. In the morning, there was already a steady stream of visitors to the zoo, especially since Friday is a day off. Vendors were selling cotton candy and party hats.
Ayhem, 4, said the zoo and the amusement park included on the grounds are his favorite places to go in Baghdad. It had been two years since his parents brought him to the zoo because of the violence in the city, but began bringing him and his older brother to the park two months ago.
“They are beautiful,” he said of the new tigers. The U.S. embassy spent about $66,000 arranging for the tigers’ transportation.
During the U.S. invasion, many animals escaped from the zoo and there was looting there. Many animals were found starving or dying of thirst. The zoo was also a source of controversy in the fall of 2003, when some U.S. Army Reserve soldiers and Iraqi police had a party there. A tiger attacked an American soldier and the animal was shot and killed. There were reports that the soldiers were drunk, but a military report concluded that the soldier involved in the incident was sober.
Now there are 788 animals and 62 exhibits at the zoo. Mr. Mousa said he hopes there will be more animals coming to the zoo with the help of charity organizations and zoos in other countries. On his wish list for future animals are an elephant and giraffe.
Well that certainly is a happy site for sore eyes, The U.S. Troops Vets and Coalition Forces and Volunteers have been working on this zoo for quite some time now and now lets hope to see if The U.S. and Others especially with the help of DHL and or Fed/X, which donate quite a bit and all pitch in to help with a much needed simple necessity to help Feline and Canine Strays alike , especially in Baghdad… Bengal Tiger Cubs are an educational delight for one to behold but are not house hold loyal pets that Iraq has been doing without that tid bit far as I understand… as most other countries of the world unknowingly take their house hold pets for granted! Please correct me if I am incorrect, also Does any one know of any kind of help that may be on it’s way…?
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