Peacocks, ostriches and baboons are part of a particular baby boom that has occurred in a small Palestinian zoo during confinement. Animals have given free rein to their instincts without the distractions that humans subject them to. The zoo in the city of Qalqilya or Kalkilia, in the West Bank, has seen 15 animals born in the two months in which it has been kept with its doors closed. It is triple the usual, his workers point out.
"The coronavirus spread at the same time that we expected several visits to the zoo, which were canceled," says veterinarian Sami Khader. "So the animals began to procreate." An ostrich that lays eggs in a normal year rarely has a chance to hatch properly, but this year she has put 11. "Since there were no people around her, she was even able to build her nest."
In the monkey cage, where abortions are normal, a female baboon gave birth, although she doesn't take care of the calf much and the vet takes her home to feed her milk.
At the end of May, following the de-escalation decreed by the Palestinian Authority, the zoo reopened its doors to the public. Now, those responsible for the facilities, opened in 1986, are confident that the small creatures born these months will attract enough visitors to make up for the 200,000 users they estimate have lost in the months of confinement.
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