After class yesterday, along with a small group of students, we navigated the bus system to the Sana'a Zoo. Quite an interesting experience. They have about 20 lions, a few hyenas, a cage full of monkeys, goats and sheep (although these, we think, were actually food for the big cats and not really meant to be on display), pigeons, and my favorite, about 100 guinea pigs. The zoo was surprisingly clean, the cages sturdy (in Ethiopia we saw a lion in a cage made from chain link fence, and were expecting something more along these lines), and the entrance fee was only $0.25.
This sign reads: "The zoo is not a souq (market) for the buying or selling of animals." Good to know.
But isn't this behavior discouraged? Well, no, incidentally. The zoo actually encourages and facilitates feeding the monkeys by cutting out holes in the fence and selling bags of popcorn and seeds. There were a couple Yemenis yesterday who were so excited by this feeding process that they started tossing in soda cans, in addition to the standard corn and nuts. (Click on photo to enlarge and check out the monkey's expression and chompers up close.)
Haram!
Haram!
2 comments:
i think the wee monkey with the big old chompers could benefit from some pink nail polish and maybe a few crest whitening strips?
Is that turtle getting a piggy back ride?
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