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The History of Giza Zoo |
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Khedive Ismail
(1863-1879), the ruler of Egypt, was the first to think of opening the
Zoo on the occasion of the inauguration of the Suez Canal in 1869 but he
could not do so for the lack of enough time. On March 1, 1891, the Zoo
at Giza was opened for the public.
It was first established to be
a botanical garden, with various imported rare species of the most
beautiful plants and cactus all over the world.
Its area is about 80 acres. It
is located near the west bank of the Nile. Its northern tip overlooks
Cairo University. It has five gates at each direction. The Zoo is under
the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture in Egypt.
By 1900 the annual cost of the
Zoo had reached L.E. 1,600 of which L.E. 1,000 was from the government
and the remainder from private donations. Captain Stanley S. Flower who
was responsible for the animals was appointed the Zoological Garden's
first director he occupied this post until 1924.
When you visit the zoo,
you will enjoy walks that are paved with colored pebbles set in
beautiful mosaic pictures, and its streams, lakes, bridges, and hilly
habitats for the various animals that it houses. These hilly areas are
planted with cactus trees and particularly the rare cactus fruit.
Egypt's moderate climate helped preserve the lives of animals from
different regions without the use of air-conditioning for cooling or
warming.
The Zoo is considered a
huge exhibition of African wild life. It is a habitat for many species
of animals and birds which are now extinct in Egypt. They are to be
restored to their original environments from which they were extinct.
Among these are Barbary sheep, Nubian ibex, Egyptian gazelles and Heron.
In the zoo there are five
grottoes; the greatest is called the Citadel grotto which was
constructed in 1867. It is decorated with various statues of the extinct
Fayoum rhinoceros, crocodiles and strange birds. Its plateau is covered
with a small park that could be reached by a spiral path. It has
streams, a hall in its center as a resting place and various statues of
birds and reptiles made of cement and pebbles. The streams flow through
caves with white coral reefs hanging down, into waterfalls that lead to
a lake with two islands connected with a wooden bridge.
In front of the lions'
house there are two artificial hills connected with a rare iron
suspended bridge, designed by G. Eiffel.
In addition to the
numerous animals in the zoo, there is a museum (Animal Museum) which was
built in 1906. It consists of three big halls exhibiting large groups of
birds, reptiles, fish and animals as well as skeletons.
The Zoo is also an
institute where scientists study the behavior of animals and birds.
There are five non-governmental organizations that carry out campaigns
to encourage people to preserve wild life and promote environment
awareness in Egypt.
Number of Zoo visitors
kept climbing each year. In 1899, it was more than 43,000. In 1906, it
increased up to 223,500. In 2007 number of visitors was more than
3,398,000. On feast days this number is four or fivefold.
Source:
official
website of Giza Zoo
(2010)
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