A day at the zoo — in Yemen

Tik Root | Global Post

SANA’A, Yemen — For just 100 riyals ($0.46), visitors of the Sana’a Zoo in Yemen’s capital can peruse a bizarre collection of animals that showcases pigeons over monkeys and alligators – and that hosts Arabian Leopards sixteen times as rare as the Giant Panda.

The animals are unhealthy, the cages are small, and the care is rudimentary at best. But the zoo’s low but quirky standards are not enough to deter pleasure-seeking Yemenis from enjoying the wildlife.

As one of the few green spaces among the city’s urban sprawl, the zoo is a weekend and holiday destination for Yemenis looking for an afternoon of entertainment amid the grinding poverty and rising insecurity that have come to characterize the country in recent years. 

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