Babylon's Ark Essay

Babylon’s Ark is the story of Lawrence Anthony a South African entered Iraq in hopes of saving the Baghdad Zoo. The Baghdad Zoo was in the middle of a war zone so parts of the walls were damaged, some animals had escaped and the ones that were trapped in their cages had to constantly endure the sounds of bomb shells going off and avoids the looters that were constantly trying to eat them. Upon Anthony’s arrival the prospect of the zoo surviving were slim to none. He even considered putting a bullet in each one of the animals because at the time it may have been the most humane thing to do. Luckily the American army was posted near the zoo so Anthony was able to get protection for himself while in Iraq but he was also able to procure some

The looters almost brought the zoo under when $1500 was stolen along with a donkey and several monkeys. Unfortunately the American Army was under strict orders so they couldn’t officially provide protection, but some officer’s sympathetic of their cause did provide some weapons taken off the bodies of dead Iraq soldiers. This did solve the problem of looters short term but did nothing in the long run. After hearing rumors of other animals held in terrible conditions Anthony made numerous trips into very dangerous territory putting his life and that of the workers under him at risk. Some raids were a huge success, like when he was able to the camel, Sudan’s Lions, and a few bears. Others were a disaster, like when they rescued a few peacocks and birds which were then stolen and killed by Looters within hours of them residing in the zoo. The group of animals that turned the tide for the zoo was the Arabian horses. When these animals were safely in the custody of the Baghdad Zoo, Thousands upon thousands of dollars became available to help fully restore the zoo. The largest however came from Baghdad itself who offered money to help the zoo in order to reestablish a sense of order and civilization in the war-struck city. With this money and new found support the zoo was able to fix the walls, cages and plumbing.