Rescue of Baghdad Zoo

                     “I couldn’t stand the thought of animals dying in their cages.                                        I couldn’t get any support from anybody so I thought I’ll just go.                                                                    I went there for the animals.”                                                          – Anthony’s driving factor in his Baghdad Zoo rescue

In 2003, Anthony was on the terrace of his Thula Thula tourist lodge when a news report on the Gulf War depicting Kuwait being bombed came on. At that instant, he had recalled reading that the Baghdad Zoo, the largest in the Middle East, was built there. Horrifying images of the animals dying in their cages flooded his mind and within days, he made his way to Kuwait on a private rescue mission with a car stocked with veterinary supplies and two Kuwaiti zookeepers. Surprisingly, Anthony was “among the first civilians to enter Baghdad after the invasion” as told by a U.S soldier. Anthony later shared that this stroke of luck happened because of his naivety instead of his bravery, as he had assumed that the war was over which was not the situation he found himself in when he finally entered the Iraq capital.

Emaciated surviving lion of Baghdad Zoo in 2003

Blind bear left in Baghdad Zoo

When he reached the zoo, it was just as horrendous as he expected. Out of the zoo’s 650 animals, only 35 were remaining. The causes of death ranged from being shot by looters to being eaten by starving citizens. The zoo was filled with a suffocating horrid stench as carcasses were left uncleaned, resulting in swarms of flies. The survivors were not better off too! They were dehydrated, emaciated and tired. Their enclosures were also filthy and some even had gaping holes where it was hit directly by a mortar shell! When Anthony saw the plight of these animals, he had wanted to humanely put them down as he thought there is no greater suffering than what was happening. However, with the persuasion of the zoo’s deputy director, Husham Hussan, Anthony started on zoo-recovery efforts instead. He was the animals’ first miracle!

Firstly, he got local mullahs to dictate that his work will not be interrupted. He then proceeded to band together with a group of volunteers and a handful of Iraqi zoo staff to haul water from a nearby canal to save the critically dehydrated survivors. This meant physically lugging bucket after bucket to the zoo! He also acquired game to feed the surviving carnivores by purchasing donkeys from street vendors.

                       “They were out fighting a war all day and they would come                                        and lay their rifles down, pick up a shovel and ask ‘What can I do?”                   – Anthony’s amazement at the proactiveness of the U.S soldiers

In such a dire situation, a second miracle occurred: Parties of different sides of the war started to come together for the animals. Despite just attempting to kill each other in the war two weeks earlier, the Iraqi and American troops worked beautifully together for the surviving animals and some even acted as personal bodyguards for the zoo to ward off looters. With all the extra hands, recovery efforts were sped up and they were able to search the city for other surviving animals which were then brought back to the zoo. Anthony also personally rescued Uday Hussein’s, Saddam’s son, pet lions from the abandoned palace. It is important to share that during these rescue efforts, Anthony and his team did not have equipment like tranquilizers and dart guns. Thus, they had to resort to the traditional (and dangerous) method of using flimsy nets to round up the animals.

The zoo’s improvement invited international attention and soon, international conservation groups started to send in manpower and much needed supplies. The U.S government also stepped in after being convinced by Anthony to open the adjacent park. As Americans started to see the worth in saving the zoo, more money was invested in its recovery which was used for the refurbishing of the zoo’s infrastructure, as well as the upgrading of the animals’ cages.

After six months of hard work from a dedicated team for a common cause, the zoo was reborn and back in operations by July 2003. Although not yet restored to its former glory, but at least the animals were now healthy with clean cages. The experience Anthony had in this zoo rescue sparked his establishment of The Earth Organisation which he hopes to utilise to raise awareness of the general animal population. He also presented his draft of resolution to the United Nations, called “Wildlife in War Zones”, to ensure that all areas of conservation will be protected in times of war and conflict. To dismiss this would be equivalent to committing a war crime.

For more personal recounts, you can check out his book “Babylon’s Ark” or watch this video: