Economic Crisis Leaves Lions At Sudan Zoo Stranded

Skinny lion at the Sudan zoo (Facebook @Osman Salih)

JAKARTA - January 2020 is a month filled with sad news from the animal world. Recently, forest fires in Australia that occurred from September 2019 until now have burned animals such as koalas and kangaroos to death.

Now the international universe is again shocked by a dire situation in a zoo in Sudan. Reporting from the New York Times, Thursday, January 23, showed the condition of the lions at the Al-Qureshi Zoo in Khartoum looking very thin. Even this wild animal known as the king of the forest looked only like a bone wrapped in skin.

According to reports, the lions, numbering five of them, were short of food and medicine for weeks. Zoo administrators and Al-Qureshi Zoo medics say the lions' condition has deteriorated over the past few weeks, losing nearly two-thirds of their weight.

"Food is not always available, so often we buy it from our own money to feed the lions," said Essamelddine Hajjar, a manager of the Khartoum Al-Qureshi Zoo.

Lion in a Sudan zoo in appalling condition (Facebook @Osman Salih)

Due to the inability to buy food, many of the animals died or were evacuated. Now the zoo has only the skinny lions.

Sudan is in the midst of a worsening economic crisis. The situation in Sudan is getting worse because of soaring food prices and the low exchange rate of the Sudanese currency. The zoo is run by the municipality of Khartoum, but is also partially funded by the private sector.

For your information, on Sunday, January 19, 2020, a crowd of residents, volunteers and journalists flocked to the zoo to see the skinny lions after their photos were spread on social media networks.

The disturbing images were shared on social media by a local animal rights advocate, drawing a fiery response from thousands of people around the world. But that was not enough to save the lions at the zoo, said local activist Zuhair al-Sarag.

One of the five lions was tied with a rope and given intravenous fluids to recover from dehydration. In addition, there were also pieces of rotten meat covered with flies scattered near the lion's cage.

The zoo's condition is also very poor. The unsanitary environment affects the health of the animals, said another official at the park.

Many international organizations are willing to help "the lions, including rescue groups who are expected to arrive in Sudan soon, said Osman Mohamed Salih, the first activist to ask for help online.

But in the meantime, many have tried to help by donating money through crowdfunding sites. Salih added that the United States' sanctions against Sudan were a factor in the difficulty for zoos to receive funds through popular platforms such as GoFundMe. But until now there has been no immediate response from GoFundMe.

"I was shaken when I saw these lions in the zoo ... their bones protrude from the skin," wrote Osman Salih on Facebook as he launched an online campaign under the slogan #Sudananimalrescue.

"I urge interested people and institutions to help them," he added.

Locals, worried about the lions, have recently flocked to help. They brought food and medical supplies, even though they themselves were also experiencing an economic crisis. Soaring food prices in Sudan sparked a mass protest movement in 2019 that rocked the great African nation, eventually demanding that Omar al-Bashir step down as president in April 2019.