The "mysterious" death of three American black bears at Giza Zoo. HT : Occupy for Animals.
The three American black bears Farah, Lulu and Nabila, died at Giza zoo during the night from Saturday, 5th of May, 2013.
According to the official statement released by Gizaa zoo, the three bears mauled each other to death as they fought over a male partner. Apparently, workers and veterinarians tried to separate them, but all three bears end up dying after an hours-long battle that lasted from 3 o'clock in the afternoon until midnight. "Their fighting has lead to their death as a result of their fractures of their necks, (!?) said the official statement from Giza zoo.
While it was not immediately clear under which circumstances, this tragic accident could have happened, it was clear - after the release of this rather confusing statement and those that followed - that the management of Giza zoo had something to cover up.
In the two days following the death of Farah, Lulu and Nabila, a number of inconsistencies have emerged raising questions as to the true circumstances of the three unfortunate grizzly bears' tragic death:
- Three bears maul each other to death - all end up dead. No-one survives. Isn't that very strange?
- The pathology report revealed: break in neck, lower jaw, break in the chest bones, break in spinal cord. Such injuries cannot be sustained through a (bear) fight!
- The pathology was done in THE ZOO, not in the national pathology laboratory in the National Institute for Animal Health, which casts some doubt on the results... The bodies of the 3 bears have been buried quickly behind the donkeys' enclosure.
- Apparently, the females fought over a male, but according to reports, there was no male in the enclosure
- Witnesses have also reported that the bears were vomiting the day before the accident
- Apparently, according to another of their own statements, the zoo keepers had tried to separate them using water hoses but that only lasted a while so they went back at each other again. They said the vet was called in and that he shot them with tranquilizers. But as they were kicking in, a crowd had gathered around the bears enclosure - the bears panicked and tried to climb up the enclosure and fell off. Their statement made after the pathology says the bears died from multiple fractures due to the fall... A crowd gathered at the bears enclosure on a Saturday night? At midnight?
- Also, we have never heard that females were fighting over a male! Even Dr. Osama Salim - Chairman of the General Authority for Veterinary Services, said in a statement that "spring is the mating season for wild animals, stressing that the quarrel between wild animals is always among males, stressing that what happened at the zoo is worth studying...." (see video on our website)
- and according to this same interview, not only these 3 female bears died but also two other bears have been injured in another enclosure (see video at minute 6:20)
THE TRUE STORY...
Two days after the death of the bears, a witness reported that, in preparation for the sham el nessem (the Easter holiday during which more than 70,000 people are excepted to visit the zoo) the bears where given a tranquilizer to keep them calm during the day. The witness, that wanted to remain anonymous, said that the bears were given an overdose.
This story was confirmed later by the newspaper Al-Watan. The three bears died because of a sedative overdose, leading to two falling over and breaking several bones, while the remaining one drowned.
The incident is currently being investigated and a new pathology is being done. We will update our website with more details as soon as Dina has informed us about the outcome...
In her article "Calling all animal activists" from 11th of May, 2013, published in Daily News Egypt, Sara Abou Bakr, sums the entire situation in the seven Egyptian governmental zoos brilliantly up, and calls on all animal activists in every country to help our Egyptian friends close down these hell-holes and find an alternative for the suffering animals.
CALLING ALL ANIMAL ACTIVISTS
by Sara Abou Bakr - May 11, 2013 - Six days ago, three grizzly bears died at Giza Zoo.
Reports on the news stated that the three female bears were fighting over a male.
Thus ensued a slew of jokes about the prowess of the male bear, though how someone can find such negligence- on the part of the zoo- hilarious escapes me.
Two days later, the Al-Watan newspaper broke the story; the three bears died because of a sedative overdose, leading to two falling over and breaking several bones, while the remaining one drowned.
A photo of a starving lioness at Alexandria Zoo ignited anger last August, gaining international scrutiny from animal activists. The zoo manager assured them the case was under control. A day later, the lioness died.
In November 2011, a lioness cub was rescued from an enclosure in the Red Sea and placed in Giza Zoo, which is supposed to act as a rescue centre if necessary. Mimi the cub was given to the zoo and several well-meaning animal lovers donated blankets, toys and their time to help her transition. Mimi died a month later.
Similar stories of the negligence of the seven governmental zoos in Egypt can be easily dug up (http://
You do not have to be a specialist to see the abuse first-hand.
Giza Zoo, because it is located in the capital, gets the lion’s share of media attention, followed by Alexandria Zoo. The conditions of the other governmental zoos in Beni Suef, Fayoum, Kafr El-Sheikh, Mansoura, and Tanta are even worse. Puny and injured animals suffering from malnourishment is a major concern.
One of the worst kinds of exploitation of wild animals in Egyptian zoos is what is commonly known as a “photo session”. You pay EGP 20 and you can have your photo taken with your choice of wild baby animals- lion cubs, peacocks, monkeys, and more.
Parents flock to the photo sessions, wanting to appease their children’s desire for a photo with a lion cub. It does not matter that human-animal contact is dangerous because of the transfer of viruses which can lead to the animal’s death and at times, the human’s infection. Nor does it matter that teaching children such behaviour only reinforces the concept of treating animals as toys. What matters is making money.
The zoo keepers are given very low monthly salaries, around EGP 200. To make ends meet, they depend on tips from visitors who, in turn, require tricks from the animals. The keepers have to care about the animals because they are their livelihoods. Unlike zoo keepers aboard, they are not given any awareness or animal behaviour courses. Most of them gain experience on the job. Some have had their job for over 20 years; their responsibility, according to one keeper, is to “keep the animal alive”. If the animal dies, the keeper takes the fall even if there is administrative negligence. Thus it is a vicious cycle of covering negligence instead of fixing the problem.
The General Organisation of Veterinary Services (GOVS) headed by Osama Selim supervises all four animal-related sectors: public zoos, veterinarian quarantine, veterinarian preventive medicine, and slaughterhouses. Selim happens to be the head of the veterinary services as well, while Fatma Tamam is Giza Zoo director and head of the public zoos!
The duality of positions means that complaints fall into a vicious cycle; if an animal dies at Giza Zoo, a complaint is then filed to the zoo director, who is Tamam. All complaints against the zoo are handed to the head of the public zoos- Tamam- too. Complaints filed with the Environment Police are also handed to Tamam for investigation!
In a country where people can barely make ends meet, animals do not rank high on the important issues list.
So why keep zoos functional?
Money!
The money made out of yearly visitors is reported in the millions (the actual budget remains a top secret issue so far). Egyptians, who are quite poor, find that zoos are their only possible outing because of the low-priced tickets, particularly during holidays. Of course, the huge numbers of visitors, animals suffer a different kind of maltreatment; visitors agitate them and some even throw hot drinks on them to “get a reaction”. Last week, during the Easter holiday, children were filmed shooting at the antelopes with a BB gun!
To have a zoo is a responsibility. Animals cannot talk or express their pain, and so if one is not up to such a responsibility, it should be given up.
Activists have started an online petition to close down all seven governmental zoos, calling them “hellholes for animals” (http://www.change.org/
Until Egypt can step up to its responsibilities, we call upon all animal activists in every country to help us close down these hell-holes and find an alternative for these suffering animals.
“Of all the animals, man is the only one that is cruel. He is the only one that inflicts pain for the pleasure of doing it.”
Mark Twain
Pictures of these hell-holes are compiled at: http://
Videos regarding the death of the three bears are compiled at: http://
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HOW YOU CAN HELP
1. Please sign & share the following petitions:
a) http://www.change.org/
b) http://www.change.org/
c) http://
2. Please join the FB-group "Mimi's War" if you like to actively help:
https://www.facebook.com/
3. Share this information with as many as you can!
4. Leave a comment regarding the shameful treatment of animals in Egypt's seven governmental zoos at the Facebook-page of Egypt's president, Dr. Mohamed Morsy at: https://www.facebook.com/
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