An ominous sign posted at the entrance to the reptile exhibit reminds eager vistors to keep their hands to themselves. (Photos courtesy of David Harvey)

Welcomed to the gates by a lush, green garden sculpture
depicting an elephant, visitors to the San Diego Zoo are prepared to enter one
of the world’s most renowned and progressive animal habitats. It is also one of
the most expansive, stretching over 100 acres of San Diego
real estate. The cost of entrance: $33 — the “best value” rate.

Ushered in through an immense green gate, flanked on either
side by etched stone giraffes, visitors to the Giza Zoo in Cairo
can enjoy the once fourth-ranked zoo in the world, also mapped at 100 acres,
for one Egyptian pound, or 18 American cents.

Idyllic walking trails for guests and spacious living
accommodations for residents have put the San Diego Zoo ahead of many around
the world. It is known not only for its educational aspect and mission to
inform the public, but as a leader in conservation and protection of endangered
species. The zoo has been pivotal in
breeding and reintroduction efforts for the California Condor and the
African Black Rhino. It is even more famous for raising the first Panda cubs born
in the United States.

A zookeeper helps a child feed a hungry seal through cage bars. The Giza Zoo uses thin bars and chainlink fences to separate impulsive crowds from the wildlife. (Photos courtesy of David Harvey)

Most of the animals are transferred between the zoo and the Wild
Animal Park,
which operates under the same management. Entrance fee proceeds go to
maintaining animals and locations, education programs, research and
conservation efforts.

The Giza Zoo’s income doesn’t even cover upkeep costs, but
remains low to allow residents and tourists of all incomes a chance to
experience everything the facility has to offer. The zoo houses an extensive
breeding facility, where the first California Sea Lion was born in the Middle
East, and a fully operational taxidermist. Nevertheless, the zoo
staff’s focus is less about education as it is about entertainment.

The green gardens and wide walkways of the Giza Zoo contrast
the crowded and urban landscape of Cairo.
Even on Friday, the first day of the Egyptian weekend and Muslim holy day, the
zoo is less crowded than its San Diegan counterpart on the slowest of days.

While the San Diego
zoo welcomes visitors to snap photos of the resting, frolicking or pacing
creatures, the Giza Zoo prohibits guests to enter with their personal cameras.
But this rule, like so many others in Cairo,
is flexible and laxly enforced.

Another practice that sets the Giza Zoo apart from the San
Diego Zoo is the proximity with which tourists or guests can find themselves
from the animals. The San Diego Zoo is a pioneer in building cage-less
exhibits; at the Giza Zoo visitors can stand mere feet from lions, tigers and
bears, separated from the confines of their tiny cells by only a few steel
bars.

At the sea lion cage, a member of the zoo staff gave a long
stick to a young child, which he then used to feed the excitable animal a
meager chunk of fish. The sea lion, flinging itself against the cage and
stuffing its face into the holes of a rusty cyclone fence, likely spent its
entire day in that same predicament. The kids can’t seem to get enough.

Walking past the bears, Earl
Warren College
seniors Wesley Horne, Meaghan Beatty and I all paused. One small black bear
with a bald spot and dangling tongue was raking its head along the bars in
brain-damaged fashion. Another group squealed and cried out as zookeepers
splashed a large barrel of what looked like oatmeal into the center of the
cage. The bears attacked the food ravenously. At the far end of the complex a
small boy nearly lost a hand as he spoon-fed a lone member of the exhibit.

One elephant garnered similar treatment; a crowd waited at
the edge of the gate to hand his wandering trunk leaves and lettuce. Masses of
baby crocodiles flooded across small, glass enclosed caverns in the reptile
center and a sign outside, surely meant to prevent reoccurrence of past
mishaps, asked visitors to refrain from catching the animals.

By the time we reached the lion exhibits we had managed to
attract the attention of a zoo photographer, eager to show us everything the
zoo had to offer. Without even stopping outside the cages, we were whisked into
the off-limits area and the feline backroom.

We had heard there was a good chance we could hold baby
lions, chimpanzees or really do just about anything we wanted with them. Still,
when we were handed the cubs and asked to kneel, pose and smile, it felt a
little uncomfortable — not because claws were digging into my leg or because
the cameraman insisted that next we would stand with our back to a full-grown
tiger as another man dangled food above us to distract it from reaching through
the bars. No, I felt uncomfortable because I have grown up with the kind of
quality and environment the San Diego Zoo offers animals, and even then thought
the idea of zoos to be a bit perverse.

We walked out and tipped the zookeeper about $10. The
pictures cost a pretty penny more. As soon as we had them in hand we left,
unable to spend anymore time wandering the grounds.

I felt bad about the zoo’s conditions, especially about the
mistreatment of the animals. I was annoyed that they were treated so poorly so
the staff could make a little money, but I guess that is the problem. How can
the quality of care for animals go up, when the quality of life for those who
care for them depends on the circus sideshow of the Giza Zoo in Cairo?