Qalqilya Zoo
32°11′43″N 34°58′15″E / 32.1953845°N 34.9707511°E / 32.1953845; 34.9707511
Date opened	1986[1]
Location	Qalqilya, West Bank, Palestine
Land area	2 hectares (4.9 acres)
No. of animals	170

Qalqilya Zoo (Arabic: حديقة الحيوانات الوطنية) is a small 2-hectare (4.9-acre) zoo in the Palestinian city of Qalqilya on the western edge of the West Bank.^[2][3] Established in 1986, it is the only zoo in the State of Palestine.^[1] The zoo houses 170 animals, a small Natural History museum, a children's entertainment park, and on-site restaurants.

The zoo was the brainchild of the former mayor of Qalqilya. Israeli zoos helped to stock it and it was designed as a symbol of Arab-Israeli cooperation.^[4] When it opened in 1986, the zoo was considered a "jewel in the crown of Palestinian national institutions."^[1] It became a popular attraction and was later expanded to accommodate the increasing flow of visitors,^[6] which included both Arabs and Israelis.^[7]

After the outbreak of the Second Intifada, visitors from outside Qalqilya were barred entry. In 2003, the Israeli authorities allowed group visits arranged in advance.^[4] A child playing outside the main entrance of the zoo on a public holiday was killed by indiscriminate fire which led to a brief drop in visitors.^[6] The zoo's survival has been attributed to the hard work and dedication of its resident veterinarian, Sami Khadr, and his staff.^[6]

During the intifada, "Dubi", the zoo's only male giraffe, from South Africa, frightened by the sound of gunfire, was killed when it ran into a pole.^[3] "Ruti", his pregnant partner, miscarried ten days later.^[1] Both animals can now be seen stuffed at the zoo's museum.^[5] In 2002, three zebras died after inhaling tear gas used to break up a demonstration at a high school adjacent to the zoo.^[8] Mr. Khadr applied taxidermy to preserve some of the animals, including the giraffe, the unborn calf, the zebras, a monkey, wildcats and snakes.^[1]

Since its inception, an Israeli veterinarian, Motke Levison, has helped out at the zoo, providing phone consultations and meeting with Khadr to deliver emergency medical supplies. Levison has served as a mediator, helping the zoo acquire new animals.^[1] Three lions, three ibex desert goats and two zebras were donated by the Ramat Gan Safari park in September 2004.^[8] The lions were meant to be transferred to Qalqilya in 2000, but the outbreak of the Second Intifada delayed the delivery.^[9] Saeed Daoud, director of the Qalqilya Zoo, dubbed the three lions, who were named Jafer, Jaras and Naboko, "the kings of peace."^[10] According to Khadr, the Ramat Gan zoo also sent him monkeys, an ostrich, and raccoons.^[9]

The zoo houses lions, brown bears, crocodiles, ostriches, camels, deer, gazelles, zebras, birds, lizards, snakes, and monkeys of various types.^[2] There is also a hippopotamus named Dubi, who shares his small concrete wading pool with a family of peacocks.^[3] In December 2003, the zoo was described in The Guardian as "one of the West Bank's more pleasant surprises [...] there is a small but beautiful landscaped park. [...] And amid the trees, in spacious, clean enclosures, a lioness, an ostrich, a family of bears, a pool full of crocodiles."^[6] The animals have ample room to move around with some enclosures as big as those in the London Zoo.^[4]

The zoo can be reached by taking a service taxi from the city center. The zoo also has a children's entertainment park, part of which is inside what used to be a swimming pool.^[2][4]

After their deaths, animals from the zoo have been taxidermized by the resident veterinarian, a self-taught taxidermist.^[5] School children are frequent visitors to the zoo's "colorful, highly eccentric Natural History Museum."^[3] Almost 100 exotic animals are displayed in it.^[5]

• Gaza Zoo

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