In a press release dated July 5, 2003, Adel (he calls himself Dr. Adel in the press release) says, "The animals are all under the care and close supervision of the coalition, local veterinarians as well as professional zoo management, who see no urgent need for immediate relocation on medical or other grounds."
"The senior zoo staff became nervous because Iraqis accused them of parting with national property and profiting," says Jones. "The Iraqis are also under the mistaken impression that lions are rare. They are not convinced that we will help them get more lions if their facilities improve."
Adel reportedly would like to expand the zoo or build a wildlife sanctuary in Baghdad.
"That's probably impossible," says WildAid's Bognar, who has worked with Adel. "There's just not enough money for the people and the workers at the zoo, let alone a brand new multimillion-dollar wildlife sanctuary in the city." Food, water, veterinary and other costs could average $5,000 a year per lion—double if the lion gets sick. To some wildlife activists, the Baghdad Zoo's concrete enclosures are cruel.
Lions Part of Iraqi Identity
Bognar recently met with Faris al-A'asem, deputy Mayor of Baghdad, and proposed that Adel and his senior staff visit Bahrain's Alareen Zoo, considered one of the best zoos in the Middle East. Bognar hoped the visit would illustrate the difficulty of maintaining lions in proper, internationally accepted enclosures and show the wisdom of relocation.
"Not letting at least some of the lions go is a tragic mistake," Joubert of SanWild says. "At the very least, the cubs (which have a better chance at rehabilitation) should be returned to the wild as free-ranging animals." Al-A'asem has agreed to the trip to Bahrain for Adel and his team, who are waiting for the paperwork to clear.
Meanwhile the activists worry, and Uday's lions wait in their bullet ridden compound, sweating the hot Iraqi summer.
Capt. William Sumner, a U.S. Army Civil Brigades official partially in charge of the military presence at the zoo, and who has actively helped the zoo get back on its feet, provides another perspective.
"Although I would like to see the lions returned to the wild, I don't think it will happen in the near future, if at all," Sumner says. "Uday's lions have become intertwined with the Iraqi national identity. Those Iraqis who know of the lions' plight want them to remain home. Even the entrance gates of the Baghdad Zoo have lions on them."
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