A Gaza zoo has come up with a novel way of saving cash when it comes to replacing their animals that die.
Rather than get new ones imported or try for that whole breeding thing, park owner Mohamed Awaida just Googled taxidermy and went to work.
The man with no vetinary training has treated 10 animals including a lion, a monkey missing an eye and some limbs and a porcupine who now has a hole in its head from the procedure. Guided by his web search results, he has used a formula of sawdust and formaldehyde.
Most of the animals deaths were the result of an Israeli attack in 2009, victims of disease, hunger and neglect. When the attack happened, the staff were forced to abandon the zoo, leaving the caged creatures no means to feed themselves. Possibly best that they don’t get any new ones in…
The stuffed corpses are now on show alongside the 65 other surviving animals at the zoo, including an ostrich, a tiger and deer. The animals are kept in makeshift cages constructed from shipping crates and the remains of Israeli settlements dismantled in 2005. Sweet wrappers and fizzy drink cans litter the ground around them.
“The idea to mummify animals started after the Gaza war because a number of animals like the lion, the tiger, monkeys and crocodiles died,” Mr Awaida explained. “So we asked around and we learned from the web how to start.”
This isn’t the first scheme dreamed up by these wacky Palestinians. In 2009, a nearby zoo in Gaza City painted stripes on donkeys to replace two zebras killed during the Israeli offensive.
By Lewis Roe
@CrackingAce
Earless Bunny Killed By Clumsy Cameraman HERE
