Lifestyle

Keepers, animals keep each other company at Cairo's shuttered zoo

05 Apr 2020

Giza Zoo keeper, Mohamed Aly touches the hand of a chimpanzee called 'Jolia'.

The chimpanzees, lions and hippos of Cairo's zoo are getting a rare spell of peace and quiet alone with their keepers as a closure caused by the coronavirus outbreak keeps the public away.

The zoo in Giza, across the Nile from central Cairo, is one of the few green spaces in the usually bustling city of 23 million and is often crammed with families seeking diversion from the grind of daily life.

Giza Zoo keeper, Mohamed Aly feeds a chimpanzee called 'Koko.'

Now keepers do their rounds at the zoo along deserted pathways, feeding animals apples and bananas through the railings of their cages and bringing fresh hay to their enclosures.

Veteran keeper Mohamed Aly holds hands with 12-year-old chimpanzee Jolia in a gesture of friendship, while noting that keepers are careful about cleaning hands between rounds.

Zoo keeper, Abdel Rahaman feeds a hippopotamus after Giza Zoo was closed to the public.

"I've been here about 25 years," he said. "(I've spent) my whole life with them, they may not speak but they feel everything, and of course all of them are looking for people to play with."

Egypt, like other countries, is trying to curb the spread of coronavirus cases by restricting people's movements. It has imposed a night curfew and shut schools, mosques and tourist sites including the pyramids.

Giza Zoo keeper, Mohamed Rizq feeds a bear called 'Hany' after the zoo was closed.