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Already at the end of the 19th century (around 1898), Sultan Mulay
Abdulaziz (also Mulai Abdul Aziz or Mulai Abd al-Aziz) had an enclosures
of gazelles and Barbary sheep (still in the palace in Marrakech). The
Sultan was very young and spendthrift (and later in debt). He wasted
resources especially for overpriced uselessness and utter nonsense
coming from Europe. When he definitelly moved to the palace in Fes in
1902, created here an extensive menagerie and spent a great part of the
treasure also by the purchasing of animals - cages with wild animals
wandered from all ports to Fes. Inside of enclosures in front of the
palace there were zebras, wapiti, apparently zebu (Hindu cattle),
antelopes, gazelles, llamas, monkeys, emus, flamingos, cranes, storks...
In cages in the palace there were lions, leopards, parrots from
Amazonia...
In 1908, Sultan abdicated and his younger brother Mulay Abdelhafid (also
Mulai Hafid or Moulai Abd al-Hafid) ascended the throne. He continued to
spend and borrow. He also still invested to his menagerie, which he
considered as an attribute of the monarchy.
 Also
a curious information is related to the Sultan's menagerie... Bou Hmara
(Bou Hamara - former Secretary of Sultan's brother, Moulay Omar) was
jailed in the Sultan's court due to many intrigues. After his releasing
he went to Algeria, however from here he returned and pretended he is
the firstborn son of Hassan I, that means the brother of the then Sultan
Abdelaziz - Moulay Mohammed, who was unknown to the public. Bou Hmara
with false identity proclaimed himself for a sultan and finally he set
out to campaign against the real Sultan. In 1909, he was captured just
by Abdelhafid's troops, was imprisoned and exhibited for 20 days in a
cage of menagerie. Then he was thrown into the lion's cage, but well-fed
lions didn't kill the pretender nor for longer time. Therefore Sultan
gave an orders to shoot Bou Hmara and to burn his body.
Also the most known information about the Sultan's menagerie is
connected with other historical events - the bloody riots of 1912...
After the signing of the French protectorate, the rebellions between
Arabs and French and racial riots between Arabic and Jewish population
set in the country,
 about
12 thousands of Jews sought refuge just in Sultan's palace. Sultan
Abdelhafid opened the gate of the palace and gave Jews asylum in his
menagerie. There are several pictures and even postcards of Jewish women
and children crammed in a cage next to a cage of lions. (see. mid
left).
After Abdulhafid was forced to
sign the protectorate (March 1912) and subsequently also his abdication,
he went to France as a guest of the French government and then returned
to Morocco - to Tangiers. The lengthy process of debt resolution
began... French protectorate government had to pay state debts of the
former Sultanate and Abdulhafid private debts. The dispute was that the
ex-sultan claimed all as state debts, while France many of them as
Sultan's personal excesses for useless or superfluous luxury. On that
occasion it was revealed also that Abdulhafid employed an Italian
dentist, but not because of the teeth, but as keeper of lions. He even
sent him to Hamburg to buy some big cats from Hagenbeck. Before that,
during the reign of Abdulaziz, Scottish piper was feeder of kangaroos
and gardener from the famous Kew Botanic Gardens (England) was hired to
teach macaws to swear.
The menagerie didn't end
by the abdication of Abdulhafida and the onset of French protectorate,
however information about its follow-up existence lacks (there is a
postcards of 1914 - see left below). During era of reign of both Sultans
(about 10 years) there were: lions (at least 6 specimens), tigers (at
least 4), black and normal leopards (at least 4), elephants (at least
2), zebras, antelopes (apparently more species), gazelles (apparently
more species), buffaloes, zebus (?), llamas, wapiti, wild boars, sheep,
horses, mules, several monkeys (more species), emus, flamingos, cranes,
storks, boa and perhaps Barbary sheep and guinea pigs.
Autor: Roman Hynek
(2012)
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