Tiger, tiger, burning bright: Hope is half of this US gift to Baghdad Zoo

BAGHDAD Zoo has welcomed a pair of rare Bengal tiger cubs donated by a US sanctuary.

The tigers, a male and a female named Riley and Hope, frolicked with red and blue balls in a wading pool and playfully wrestled with each other in their cage, while American soldiers snapped pictures and delighted Iraqis strolled by.

The animals, donated by the North Carolina-based Conservators' Centre, arrived on Monday after being flown to Baghdad from the United States in a £33,000 trip funded by the US embassy. They were transported to the zoo by the US military.

The tigers are the first foreign donation of animals to the zoo, which has 788 animals.The pair will be fed 13lb to 18lb of red meat each day.

The Conservators' Centre, a non-profit sanctuary and conservation breeding facility in Mebane, North Carolina, said it decided to send the tigers to Baghdad to help boost restoration efforts and education work at the zoo.

Like many other Iraqi institutions, Baghdad Zoo is struggling to emerge from years of devastation amid the violence that followed the US invasion in March 2003, and officials showed off the tigers as proof of progress.

Adel Salman Mousa, zoo director, said: "This is a good day for the tigers, the zoo and the people of Iraq."

US military and zoo officials said they had spent more than a year preparing for the tigers' arrival and expressed confidence their care would meet international standards.

The chaos in Iraq meant that months after the US invasion, some wild animals roamed freely, including a bear that mauled three civilians, and three lions that were shot to death when they tried to pounce on a contingent of US soldiers.

The surviving animals were nursed back to health, and others were brought to the main park from private zoos found in the palaces of ousted leader Saddam Hussein's family.

The zoo, established in 1973, has enjoyed a revival with the recent decline in violence, boasting an average of 2,000-3,000 visitors on weekdays and 10,000 at weekends.

Ahmed al-Dairy, 38, brought his wife and three young sons to the zoo for the third time this year, saying it was the only decent public place to enjoy a day out in the barricaded capital.

"Last year it was a very bad situation in Baghdad, but now it is good," he said. "Still there are bombings, but we must adapt ."

However, animal rights activists led by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) criticised the move, saying it was premature as Baghdad continues to suffer from violence.

They also pointed to past violence against the animals, many of which were killed amid widespread fighting and looting that followed the Americans' capture of Baghdad.

Lisa Wathne, a Peta spokeswoman, said: "Our heart goes out to the tigers… they will be caged, helpless, and completely dependent on humans to survive."