A bear reacts in a cage before receiving treatment from members of the international animal welfare charity "Four Paws" at Nour Park in Mosul's zoo, Iraq, February 21, 2017.Reuters
The zoo in eastern Mosul, which used to be the home to a multitude of wild animals, including four lions is in a "disastrous state" with just a lion and a bear surviving the utter negligence during the jihadist rule. A team of vets from the international animal charity Four Paws visited the zoo for feeding the emaciated animals and giving them medical treatment.
"It was obvious that no one had cleaned the cages or provided the animals with veterinary care for a very long time," the organization said in a statement.
According to the authorities, Simba, the young lion and Lula, the female bear have hardly had any food recently. But, they are still alive because of the kindness of Mosul residents and local volunteers, who brought scraps of food to the starving animals, even though they could hardly find enough to feed themselves. However, most of them had to flee to save their own lives, leaving the animals behind as the war conditions worsened.
A lion in its cage looks at a dead lioness in a grave at Mosul's zoo, Iraq. A bear paces around a filthy cage next to a starving lion, the only two animals left in Mosul's zoo. At the edge of their tiny enclosures lies a lioness dead from starvation.Reuters
A member of the international animal welfare charity "Four Paws" gives treatment to a lion at Mosul's zoo, Iraq, February 21, 2017.Reuters
Dr. Sulaim Tameer Saeed, founder of the Kurdistan Organization for Animal Rights Protection (KOARP), one of their human neighbours in the east of the city, manages to coordinate two shipments of chicken meat and fruit and vegetables to the animals.
"On February 2, I got an email from some people inside Mosul asking [for] emergency help for three animals, two lions and one bear, remaining without food more than 60 days," Saeed told The Dodo.
The Four Paws veterinarians have been able to come in and treat Simba and Lula as the Iraqi army has retaken the region from ISIS. They also coordinated food for the lion and bear for the next four weeks.
A bear stands in its cage before receiving treatment from members of the international animal welfare charity "Four Paws" at Nour Park in Mosul's zoo, Iraq, February 21, 2017. Picture taken February 21, 2017.Reuters
A local volunteer working with the international animal welfare charity "Four Paws" feeds a dead bird to a lion as he provides treatment to animals at Nour Park in Mosul's zoo, Iraq, February 21, 2017.Reuters
Mortar shells left behind by Islamic State militants are seen in a freezer at Nour Park at Mosul's zoo.Reuters
A bear is seen in the cage of Nour Park at Mosul's zoo.Reuters
An empty cage is seen inside the Mosul Zoo.Reuters
A volunteer feeds a lion at Nour Park in Mosul's zoo. "When the battle intensified, it was impossible for the guard and animal handler to reach them," said the zoo owner, who gave his name only as Abu Omar. Neighbors had been feeding the animals, but when the fighting became too fierce, they could not leave their homes. Some of the animals starved to death. Others escaped or were killed in the fighting.Reuters
A starving lion is seen in its cage at Mosul's zoo. There used to be four lions. When the first two died, the surviving lions ate their remains amid the chaos. Like much of the city, the once-peaceful animal park has been destroyed by months of fighting between Iraqi forces and Islamic State militants.Reuters
