As a result of losing WAZA membership, the zoo lost contact with other facilities worldwide and standards slipped even further. Dr. Nabil Sidki, director of Giza Zoo and head of the Central Department of Zoos, notes that a series of false claims, such as rumors that the zoo would be privatized or moved (even though it is a historical site), contributed to the decline. The most damaging claim was that Egypt had violated the conditions of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) agreement, ratified in 1978, through involvement in illegal animal trading. This claim has been refuted by CITES officials.

But lately, things are looking up for the mammalian, avian and reptilian residents of Giza, with efforts now underway to restore the zoo’s glorious past and its WAZA membership. However, as Sidki says, “developing the zoo cannot be done in the absence of the international organizations.”

Sidki has started by implementing a data-sharing system, run by an international organization called ISIS, which allows the zoo to access up-to-date information about animals in facilities around the world. Without this network, Sidki says, the zoo could neither exchange animals with other zoos, nor could its veterinarians take training courses abroad. By joining ISIS, Giza Zoo alerted organizations abroad that it was back on the map. The executive director of the African Association of Zoos and Aquaria (PAAZAB) has also recommended that the zoo be allowed to rejoin WAZA.

To help introduce technological advances and improvements, Nick Lindsay, an expert from London Zoo (which was built in the same era as its Egyptian counterpart) was invited to inspect Giza Zoo for six days. Plans were then drawn up to develop the animal enclosures to international specifications and reduce the numbers of animals kept at the zoo, as well as the number of visitors coming in.

Financial support from the Ministry of Culture and technical aid provided by international organizations, according to Sidki, has led to the redevelopment of parts of the zoo such as the Royal Grotto. The zoo has also employed new technology for cleaning the swan lake and lion enclosure, as well as installing software that defines the nutritional requirements of every animal.

The botanical side of the zoo is not being ignored either. A committee from Agriculture Research Center will be implementing a new maintenance program to prevent further water damage to the trees, some of which have been affected by polluted ground water.

“We are following the right course and positive results have been achieved, but we still lack the technical aids for implementing a strategy,” says Sidki, citing the need for more training for veterinarians, administrators and keepers.

“Applying updated technology for maintaining the welfare of the animals while at the same time preserving the historic style of the zoo needs great effort and time,” he says.

Entering the zoo’s Citadel Grotto, finished in 1867, visitors stroll through the Victorian-era gardens and animal enclosures. The grotto is covered with coral and petrified wood under a garden cultivated with a rare species of Indian fig trees. Streams flow into waterfalls, which tumble into the lake where swans, ducks and geese paddle. Whispering couples walk through the grotto hall, which was constructed to amplify sound, and through a passage adorned with colored pebble murals of flora and fauna. A collection of animal sculptures represents Fayoum’s extinct rhinoceri, crocodiles, reptiles and birds.

The Shame’dan Grotto is another landmark of the zoo, where artificial stalactites seem to drip from the roof like wax off a burning candle. Nearby, a hanging bridge links the Khedive’s Palace with the Harem Palace.

Hordes of visitors swarm towards the Japanese-style kiosks built by King Fouad I in 1924 to receive the Japanese heir, Hirohito. Now, the buildings are used as a museum exhibiting the Egyptian royal family’s antiques, as well as photographs of the zoo’s most distinguished visitors, including Queen Elizabeth II, Emperor Haile Sellasie and First Lady Susan Mubarak.

Nearby, huge wire birdcages enclose majestic birds of prey that watch the crowd from their perches, as well as the vultures that wait eagerly for the offal thrown to them by their keepers. Gawky storks, comical Secretary Birds, buff-backed herons and a colony of flamingos wade in a shallow pond.

Among the Reptile House residents are poisonous Egyptian and Indian cobras, a sleepy Boa Constrictor digesting his once-a-month meal, and insects and arachnids such as scorpions and giant spiders. A deadly Egyptian Sand Viper, its head barely visible against the sandy floor of its cage, watches an oblivious mouse dart around its enclosure.

Lying motionless in a special pool enclosed by a high fence, the former emblem of the Egyptian kingdom, crocodiles, look dead as they wait for their keeper to throw them a bit of meat. Terrified children cling to their mother’s hands in front of the lion and tiger pens, as the big cats spring against the bars and roar with anger.

Originally a botanical garden, the Giza Zoo received a collection of rare animals, birds and reptiles in 1891, when it was officially inaugurated by Khedive Ismail. A lion imported from the Sudan was the first animal kept at the Giza Zoo, according to Dr. Lewis Keimer, a noted German Egyptologist. The lion arrived in a wooden cage so small that it could not turn around, and when its keeper transferred it to the larger iron cage, the first of its kind in Egypt, the two developed an unusual bond. The lion would come to the bars of the cage to be petted and scratched, and when its keeper was called into military service, the lion stopped eating. Hearing the story, officials promptly exempted the keeper from military service so he could return to the zoo.

Although the zoo has suffered over the past few decades, administrators have tried to advance its philosophy by incorporating education. A visit to the zoo is no longer solely about seeing big predators or slithering reptiles; young and old patrons alike now get a lesson on animal care and the natural world.

Each day, some 2,000 children are informed and entertained by 3D films and cartoons about the animals. At the Education and Environment Enlightenment Center, children are given talks and reading material on wildlife. Touch screens will be installed in open areas to provide details about the animals.

Research is also a core activity of the zoo and animal specialists are encouraged to use the Animal Museum, Library and Laboratory for their scientific research.

Sidki says that their efforts to improve the lives of the animals and animal-lovers’ experiences at the zoo are often hampered by the bad behavior by some of the visitors. Large crowds are harmful to the flora and fauna, and some people deliberately provoke the animals by poking them with sticks. “What annoys me most is [people] tossing food to the animal, which may be harmful to it,” says Sidki. To limit the negative behavior, new rules forbid the use of drums, stereos and stoves in the gardens.

Sidki is frustrated by the fact that people pay just LE 1 for admission, then run through wanting to see every part of the zoo in just one day. In reality, it takes several days to enjoy the entire facility.

Despite new rules and renovations, development plans for the zoo are far from completion. Almost 10,000 visitors attended Giza Zoo every day during the three-day Eid El-Fitr celebration. Children crowded around the newborn animals, while others pushed to buy ostrich and peacock feathers and eggs. If zoo officials and keepers are worried about the animals becoming distressed by crowds and noise, they seem unable to stop either.

There is a still a lot of work to be done if Giza Zoo is to rejoin WAZA, including the need to solidify improvement plans. One obstacle to returning the zoo to its former standards is the behavior of the visitors and some unscrupulous keepers, who often seem more interested in baksheesh for permitting photographs than the welfare of the animals. Development will be slow, but for Giza’s more exotic residents and the animal enthusiasts of Egypt, it will be worth the effort. et