Zoos as Recreational Places and Its Impact on the Egyptian Society Alexandria Zoo (El Nozha), Egypt as case study

AR713 - Environmental Studies in Architecture and Urban Design. First 2013-2014

Zoos as Recreational Places and Its Impact on the Egyptian

Society Alexandria Zoo (El Nozha), Egypt as case study

SAHAR SALAH BADR1

Architecture Department, Faculty of Engineering, Arab Academy for Science and Technology and Maritime Transport,

Alexandria, Egypt

Architecture Department, Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt

ABSTRACT: The justification for zoos is based on their ability to act as sites of wildlife conservation. Alongside this is

the reality that zoos have historically been defined as sites for the entertainment of the general public and continue to

be dependent on the revenue raised through visitor receipts. Now zoos are identified as sites of conservation, re-

search, education, and entertainment. In recognition of this, this paper aims to promote the zoos’ role in Egypt

through clarifying the importance of zoos in our life, discussing the problems facing such places and increasing the

awareness of people regarding this subject. Literature studies about zoos and the analyses of Alexandria Zoo (El

Nozha) are the methods which this paper uses to achieve its aims.

Keywords: Zoos’ role, Zoos’ recommendations, Public awareness, Entertainment, Recreational.

1. INTRODUCTION

Zoos are one of the most popular social institutions, re-

ceiving thousands of visitors yearly, giving a global total

of more than 700 million participants (Gusset and Dick,

2011). The number of visitors to zoos often exceeds the

population of their host cities (Auricchio, 1999), sug-

gesting multiple visiting and that zoos are also popular

with visitors.

Despite these statistics, the zoo world still under-

utilizes its potential for the conservation of endangered

species (Azevedo et al., 2012), for the conservation of

biodiversity (Hoban and Vernesi, 2012), for the devel-

opment of scientific knowledge about native animals

(Conway, 2011; Pritchard et al., 2012), and for educa-

tional programs aimed at public awareness of environ-

mental issues (Wheater, 1995; Marandino and Mead-

ows, 2011).

Zoos today represent the only contact of many citi-

zens with nature. Zoo visitors need to be able to form a

personal connection to the issues surrounding conserva-

tion (Swanagan, 2000). Children represent a significant

proportion of zoo visitors (Turley, 2001). Zoos have

exhibited „exotic‟ animals from distant places that nor-

mal folk would never otherwise see. But with the growth

of ever larger cities people have become isolated from

even local wildlife (Morris, 1990). Zoos are public parks

which display animals, primarily for the purposes of

recreation or education (Singer, 1985). A zoo is defined

as being 'an establishment where wild animals are kept

for exhibition to which members of the public have ac-

cess, with or without charge for admission, seven or

more days in any period of twelve consecutive months'(

Zoos Expert Committee Handbook, 2012).

2. AIM AND OBJECTIVES

This paper aims to promote zoos‟ role in Egypt. Objec-

tives of this paper are clarifying the important role that

zoos present in our life, discussing the conditions of

such recreational places in Egypt, identifying the differ-

ent problems facing the zoo and its visitors and increas-

ing the awareness of the public considering such places.

3. METHODOLOGY

In order to meet the aims of this paper a various theatri-

cal studies were made about the importance of zoos and

its role, the recommendations should be applied for ideal

zoo, analysis of theories, studies, papers and examples

that have discussed similar subjects. Choosing Alexan-

dria Zoo (El Nozha), Egypt as a case study, an unstruc-

tured interview was taken with the visitors of the zoo.

4. HISTORICAL REVIEW FOR ZOOS IN EGYPT

The common theme throughout the histories of the zoo

is of it as a place of human entertainment and leisure.

This historical image is still the same in the eyes of the

public as only an entertainment place. However, zoos

are, today, identified as sites of conservation, research,

education, and entertainment. (Carr, N. and Cohen, S.,

2011; Benbow, 2004). It is difficult to give a precise date to the origin of

the zoo as it has changed in nature and meaning

throughout time. The earliest forms can be traced back

over 4500 years to historic civilizations such as the an-


cient Egyptians, Chinese, and Romans. The Romans, for

example, kept animals in order to have living fodder for

the games (Benbow, 2004; Jamieson, 1985).

In 2000 BCE, the Chinese Emperor Wen Wang de-

signed a huge garden, which was called the Garden of

Intelligence. It was in fact an enormous zoo spread over

about 600 hectares (1500 acres). The Indian and Chinese

kings or emperors used zoos to show how rich and pow-

erful they were.

The conceptualization of zoos in the modern era has

built on their historic construction as places of human

entertainment; places to be visited during leisure time

where the animals are presented for the amusement of

visitors. Late in 18th and early 19th century witnessed

an important evolution for zoos with the creation of zoo-

logical societies, the first modern zoos were founded in

Vienna, Madrid, Paris, Berlin and London such as the

Zoological Society of London that gave a scientific rai-

son d‟etre for zoos and opened the first truly public zoos

(Turley, 1998). The first American zoos were estab-

lished in Philadelphia and Cincinnati in the 1870s (Ja-

mieson, 1985).

In Egypt the wall carvings found are evidence that

rulers and aristocrats created menageries as early as

2500 BCE. They left records of expeditions to distant

places to bring back exotic animals such as giraffes,

elephants, bears, dolphins, and birds. There is evidence

that ancient zoo owners hired animal handlers to make

sure their animals thrived and reproduced. More than 4

thousand years ago, Queen Hatshepsut of Egypt made a

garden for animals that her soldiers brought back from

other countries, animals that were not known in Egypt.

This is the first zoo recorded in history (National Geo-

graphic, 2013)

The first modern zoo in Egypt is the Giza Zoo. It

was built by Khedive Ismail and was opened on 1 March

1891. It was built on about 21 hectares that was once

part of the harem gardens. Ismail imported many plants

from India, Africa, and South America. The original 180

birds and 78 other animals in the zoos collection were

taken from Ismail's private menagerie. In the late 1870s

the state took over the zoo as partial payment of the Is-

mail's debts. In January 1890, the harem building was

opened as a natural history museum, and was used in

this manner until a new museum was opened in Tahrir

square in 1902 (Almasry Alyoum, 2011).

When the zoo was built, the exhibits with semi-

natural habitats were considered spacious by European

standards. The animal collection emphasized Egyptian

species, and at one time claimed 20,000 individuals rep-

resenting 400 species, though many of these may have

been migratory birds. The uniqueness of the zoo lay not

only in its possession of rare animal species and plants,

but also in its lay-out and design. Gustave Eiffel, the

engineer behind the Eiffel Tower in Paris, built a metal

suspension bridge in the grounds that allows visitors a

view of the animals from the top of artificial hills. By

the end of World War II the zoo claimed 4,700 exhibits.

In 2007, the zoo hosted 3.4 million visitors.

By the mid twentieth century, the zoo was considered

one of the best zoos in the world, but it has had trouble

adapting to the pressures of growth in the latter half of

the century as human populations in Cairo have in-

creased. World Association of Zoos and Aquariums

(WAZA) had inspected the Giza Zoo in 2003 and had

drawn up a list of 14 main recommendations for im-

provements, bringing the zoo up to international stand-

ards.

Declining standards at the zoo had meant that WAZA

had been reluctant to endorse the facility. In 2004, the

zoo lost its membership with WAZA. The zoo did not

pay membership fees, and then ignored the recommen-

dations of WAZA inspectors. In 2010, the zoo became a

member of the African Association of Zoos and Aquaria

(PAAZAB), and is still working towards getting re-

accredited by WAZA (Almasry Alyom, 2011; Elahram

Weekly, 2008).

Alexandria Zoo is considered the second largest zoo

in Egypt, after Giza Zoo in Cairo and it is going to be

discussed in details later in this paper as a study case.

5. THE PRUPOSE OF ZOOS

Zoos open to the public can be found in virtually every

country in the world. The World Association of Zoos

and Aquariums now consists of more than 1,200 institu-

tions which together attract over 600 million visitors per

annum. Zoos have become nowadays highly sophisticat-

ed organizations. Most people and governments now

believe that a zoo fulfills many valuable purposes (Hol-

torf 2008).

5.1. SOCIAL PURPOSE

The wider is the variety of animals, the greater the satis-

faction of the public. Going to the zoo means entering a

new world, it is because it brings people closer to a nat-

ural environment. Adults usually bring their children

with them whenever they go to this kind of place for

recreation. Both have an innate interest in animals.

Many individuals find this practice quite relaxing, recre-

ational and fun experience (Tribe and Booth, 2003).

5.2. ECONOMIC PURPOSE

Zoos have become a place of tourist’s attraction. A zoo

is a place of pride for a country. Each zoo has its own

characteristics, specialties or sceneries. London Zoo is

one of the landmarks in the City. Vincennes, near Paris,

has a zoo that attracts millions of visitors every year

(Hub pages, 2011). The fees which are paid by these

millions of visitors represent an important mean of in-

come to the zoo and to the country.

5.3. EDUCATIONAL AND RESEARCH PURPOSE

A zoo also has the purpose of catering for the needs of

scientists. Research in animal behavior, disease, feeding


and breeding habits can be effectively carried out in

zoos. The scientific researcher can study his subject at

ease and return to it as frequently as he needs. People

can enroll in special courses or conduct field trips inside

zoos. Children can also benefit from this because they

can familiarize themselves with the different kinds of

animal species. A lot of new scientific knowledge about

animals has been obtained by close studies in zoos. Zoos

are very much important to various kinds of fields in-

cluding animal psychology, ecology and zoo biology

(Hub pages, 2011 and Why guides, 2011).

5.4. ECOLOGICAL PURPOSE (CONSERVATION) Modern zoos have been constructed as places where

members of the public can learn how they can contribute

to the survival of endangered species (Serrell, 1981;

Smith and Broad, 2008; Ballantyne, et al. 2007).

Throughout history, a number of contributing factors

have led to the extinction of some animal species. To

protect endangered animals, scientists simulate a natural

setting where animals can live safely while in captivity

where they can breed and increase while they are pro-

tected from these harmful factors (Why guide, 2011).

Zoos help to arouse people‟s awareness about the

importance and functions of animals in the wider world,

and to sustain this awareness. A zoo can do a lot to form

an animal-conscious population so that the natural re-

serves of the country can be better maintained. It may

instill in the ordinary citizen the idea that animals must

not be over-hunted. Animals play an important role in

the ecology of the planet and help to maintain the bal-

ance of nature (Tribe and Booth, 2003).

5.5. HUMAN- ANIMAL RELATIONSHIP

Visitors were found to be willing to spend much

more time looking for and watching monkeys in trees

than in cages (E. C. Price et al., 1994). Kreger and

Mench (1995) found that visitors‟ interest in less famil-

iar animals may be sufficiently strong that they are will-

ing to pay extra fees to participate in additional pro-

grams involving direct human-animal interaction, such

as animal rides and public feedings. A good relationship

between man and animal cannot be achieved if man does

not have a better knowledge of his close companions.

Animals can be better understood by all people with the

help of a zoo (Hub pages, 2011).

It is clear that zoos must perform four roles in order to

be seen to be socially acceptable and to be economically

viable. These roles are conservation, education, re-

search, and entertainment (Jamieson 1985; Reade and

Waran 1996; Turley 1998; Fernandez, et al. 2009).

Based on this reality Turley (1998, p. 340) has stated

that “zoos must balance carefully the demands of the

paying visitor with those of maintaining credibility as

conservation and education-oriented organizations.”

6. CONSERVATION RECOMMENDATIONS FOR

ZOOS

The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (2oo5)

has over 200 members. Its strategy “provides a common

philosophy for zoos and aquariums across the globe and

defines the standards and policies that are necessary to

achieve their goals in conservation”

A 21st century zoo according to the World Associa-

tion of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA, 2005) should ap-

ply the following:

* Permanent sited with legal establishment, open and

administered for the visiting public,

* Living organisms are maintained in accordance with

animal welfare and scientific management principles

and in general ethical conditions,

* The foremost and the demonstrable purpose of conser-

vation is through exhibition, education and research,

* The principal business rationale is not the commercial

trade in living organisms or their products.

The World Zoo and Aquarium Conservation Strate-

gy (WZACS, 2005) calls on institutions to pursue a

strategy of integrated conservation and strive to allocate

all their financial and human resources carefully and

intelligently, with maximum cohesive and strategic

thinking within their own organization, and maximum

collaboration with others. This will achieve the greatest

sustainable conservation benefit for threatened species,

their habitats and their human neighbors.

7. EDUCATION RECOMMENDATIONS FOR

ZOOS

The education role of the zoo is to be clearly stated in its

written mission statement.

* The zoo must have a written education policy identify-

ing components and setting out the methods by which

these components are directed towards the different sec-

tions of the zoo‟s visitor audience.

* Zoo education should target all visitors, not just

schools.

* The zoo must demonstrate that it is carrying out its

education policy, by reference to specific projects, eval-

uation procedures and research.

* At least one member of staff within the institution

should be responsible for professional implementation

of the education policy.

* For education programs to be successful, zoos must

exhibit animals in the best conditions possible.

* A reference library appropriate to the size and com-

plexity of the zoo should be maintained and made avail-

able to all staff members and to the public.

* Resource material and education information should

be made available to the general public and zoo audi-

ence (The European Association of Zoos and Aquaria

(EAZA, 2001)


8. RECREATION RECOMMENDATIONS FOR

ZOOS

A zoo visit is supposed to be fun; it should remind peo-

ple of the wonder of life and the joy of the natural world.

Communication strategies can help visitors to learn

while they are having fun (Kreger and Mench, 1995).

* Visitors should be encouraged to understand that the

fun that they are experiencing during their visit today

has a direct link to the conservation of threatened spe-

cies tomorrow.

* Visitors should be provided with every opportunity to

talk to staff.

* Visitors should be treated as guests on a shared jour-

ney of discovery and appreciation for the future of the

natural world.

* When zoos and aquariums are fully integrated with

other conservation organizations and agencies, visitors

will feel good about their visit, knowing that they posi-

tively help in the conservation of threatened species and

habitats.

* People should be motivated when they become mem-

bers and sponsors of zoos and aquariums, they will join

to help further in conservation goals, not just as a mem-

ber offers a „season ticket‟ to visit the attraction or other

benefits. (The

World Zoo and Aquarium Conservation Strategy

(WZACS), 2005)

9. ETHICS AND ANIMAL WELFARE RECOM-

MENDATIONS FOR ZOOS

The continued existence of zoos and aquariums depends

upon recognition that our profession is based on respect

for the dignity of the animals in our care.

* Basic principles for animal welfare are assisting in

achieving the conservation and survival of species must

be the aim of all members of the profession.

* Any actions taken in relation to an individual animal

must be undertaken with this higher ideal of species

survival in mind.

* The welfare of the individual animal should not be

compromised.

* Promoting the interests of wildlife conservation biodi-

versity and animal welfare to colleagues and to society.

* Cooperating with the wider conservation community

including wildlife agencies, conservation organizations

and research institutions to assist in maintaining global

biodiversity.

* Cooperating with governments and appropriate bodies

to improve standards of animal welfare.

* Encouraging research and dissemination of achieve-

ments and results in appropriate publications and fo-

rums.

* Promoting public education programs and cultural

recreational activities of zoos and aquariums. (The

World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA),

2005)

10. PREVIOUS STUDES ABOUT ZOOS

Due to the important value of zoos and the different

roles that zoos present in the society, there have been

some previous studies about zoos in Egypt and in other

countries.

Concerning Egyptian zoos, Battesti. Vincent (2006) in

his research The Giza Zoo Re-appropriating Public

Spaces, Reimagining Urban Beauty, he chooses Giza

Zoo as a study case as it has an important historical val-

ue as it was mentioned in this paper previously. He de-

pends on his own observation skills and on structured

interview with the public, some of them are zoo’s visi-

tors and some are not. He targets to visit the zoo in dif-

ferent days for example on a festival day, on a weekend

and on an ordinary day in the middle of the week. His

aim from this research is to understand how people in-

teract with such public gardens and their altitudes and

actions inside the place in addition to the human- animal

relationship. In the conclusion, he states the standards of

people using such places. He finds that the uses of the

zoo have evolved under the influence of two great

movements.

One, zoo planners and administrators have designed

a mission for the zoo, planning and directing the behav-

ior patterns of guests, animals, and guards, guided by the

metanarrative of what a zoo ought to be and how green

space ought to be used. Two, the zoo has come to em-

body the dynamic articulation of density and vibrancy,

and to serve as a stage for plays of domesticity, flirta-

tion, and theatricality.

Gewaily. Marwa (2010) in her thesis with the title

Visitor Experience in Zoo Design: Design Guidelines

for Giza Zoo. She examines case studies of the elephant

and lion exhibits in three zoos Zoo Atlanta, San Diego

Zoo, Woodland Park Zoo and she concluded criteria to

refine the definition of a visitor experience in the Giza

Zoo. Her aim in this thesis is helping the Giza Zoo re-

turn on the world‟s list as one of the best zoological gar-

dens in the region, and regaining the support of sponsor

organizations, volunteers and the general public. In addi-

tion this thesis will provide ideas for educating visitors

about environmental conservation, animal rights‟ awareness, and how human behavior impacts natural

habitat and wildlife. In the conclusion, she finds that

some exhibition areas in Giza Zoo require additional

space and some others needs to be redesigned. The ex-

hibit design should follow the criteria guidelines.

Through the previous studies and analysis, it was found

that zoos play an important role in human life and affect

the society from different sides, thus Alexandria Zoo (El

Nozha), Egypt was chosen as a case study for this paper

to be observed, analyzed and discussed.

11. CASE STUDY (ALEXANDRIA ZOO)

The Alexandria Zoo (El Nozha) is a zoo close to the

Smouha neighborhood in Alexandria, Egypt (Figure 1).

Alexandria‟s first „zoo‟ was built by Ptolemy II over


two thousand years ago. The zoo is one of the old zoo-

logical gardens in the east. It was part of the historical

Antoniadis Gardens. Antoniadis Gardens is full of rare

botanical fauna which is imported from different coun-

tries. In 1916 the Antoniadis Gardens was redesigned to

be suitable to display some animals and wild birds. The

zoo remained unstable inside Antoniadis till it settled in

1926. Its area is 25 acres. Today‟s zoo was opened in

1958. In 1986 Alexandria zoo joined the State of Egyp-

tian Zoos and Wild Life Conservation.

Figure 1: Alexandria Zoo (El Nozha) map. (Alexandria li-

brary, 2013)

12. DISCUSSION Architecturally, the zoo is structurally built on two lev-

els, the upper level originally housing animals from hot-

ter climates, with more temperate animals living on the

lower level, where cool air is channeled down, thus re-

ducing the need for any kind of air-conditioning in one

of the world‟s hottest countries.

Figure 2: Alexandria zoo map illustrating the 2 structural

levels of the zoo. (Alexandria Library, 2013)

The zoo has four main entrances (Figure 3), one in

each corner, only one of this is accessed by the public

(Northern entrance in the lower level) and the other

three entrances are locked. The zoo doesn‟t have an of-

ficial map.

Figure 3: Alexandria Zoo map illustrating the 4 entrances of

the zoo (Alexandria library, 2013)

The exhibits were also built as great attractions in

themselves. The old polar bear exhibit is another show-

cased attraction (Figure 4); designed to look like a glaci-

er, the small enclosure had very bright signs, as well as

cool showers and a pool for the polar bears to use.

Most of the zoo‟s exhibits are now empty or in disre-

pair, the zoo tried to fill every empty space with animals

but had been stopped by financial constraints. Though it

currently means that there are no rhinos, giraffes, striped

hyenas, polar bear, it has greatly reduced over-

crowdedness.

At the gate of the zoo, some vendors are applying

their products to display on the stairs of the zoo in an

unorganized way (Figure 5) causing a distorted view at

the gate. On entry, 5 LE are paid as a fee for the tickets

for Egyptians and 20 LE for tourists. The zoo is closed

on Tuesdays. There are 2 boards hanged on the wall of

the entrance, they contain the regulations and rules that

visitors should follow inside the garden.

Figure 4: The polar bear exhibit in Alexandria Zoo.


Figure 5: Vendors exposing their products to display on the

stairs at the entrance of the Alexandria Zoo.

Most „cages‟ at the zoo are iron-barred and concrete-

floored. The most numerous animals in the zoo the ex-

ception of are cats; strays are encountered on every cor-

ner and in pretty much every empty enclosure, along

with some which aren‟t empty.

The lower level focuses on bears; though they don‟t

have a polar bear anymore, the zoo still houses a pair of

brown bears, as well as a lone Asiatic Black bear.

Feeding is an option – extra fees of 2 LE should be

paid to feed the animals- the bears spend most of their

time sitting waiting for food. Most of the bear cages are

now empty. Opposite the bears is a series of rarely-

noticed cages; which holds a red fox, a raccoon and

Egyptian Jackals. A small paddock for a pair of camels is nearby, and

children can ride (extra fees required) the camels around

the paddock. The Giraffe house is next, with a reasona-

bly large paddock for a solitary giraffe, but unfortunate-

ly the giraffe was dead; they have since fenced off the

near end of the giraffe paddock and keep some odd-

looking goats there (which can also be fed).

The sealion pool, which used to house two sealions

but there, is now only one. Again, visitors are welcome

to enter the enclosure and feed the sealion (for extra

fees) which jumps out of the water on command.

A series of paddocks on the left hold varieties of

horses for children to ride (extra fees required).

Then the old Asian Elephant house comes into view

but unfortunately the elephant was died recently. Kids

used to be able to ride it, but it wasn't seen that anyone

go in for several years; But, you still can feed it. Next up

is the old white rhino paddock, there hasn‟t been a rhino

here for many years, the public were able to ride and

feed it.

After climbing back up some stairs to the upper level,

there‟s the lion house is on the right (Figure 6). The lion

house has amazing acoustics, designed to resonate every

growl and roar into a fearful noise (unfortunately, they

still promote this today, and keepers often cause the li-

ons to roar just for the public‟s enjoyment).

Figure 6: Lion house from inside.

Then there is a moat which has also become very

dirty and littered with peoples‟ rubbish. Any animals in

the lion house can be fed, they can roar on command, or

stand on their hind legs to reach for food. The keepers

seem to take great pleasure in organizing sessions in

which all the cats roar, but it is incredibly saddening to

hear.

Almost in the center of the zoo is a kind of observa-

tion tower – it‟s closed to the public so no one knows

what it is for, but it seems to have fallen into disrepair in

recent years. Surrounding this tower there are empty

paddocks. Just off to one side is a small cafe, next to a

building which houses the zoo‟s museum (which has

been closed for several years) and the reptile house

which is the majority of residents in the reptile house

were Egyptian cobras.

Following the path round, there‟s a group of small

cages holding several monkeys, the chimpanzee cages

are empty. Monkeys can also be fed, but people like to

taunt them too. Next is the monkey mountain, a huge

mock-rock structure which is home to a large troop of

Hamadryas baboons (Figure 7).

People can buy peanuts to throw in for the baboons,

but they also like to throw in rubbish and some poten-

tially lethal items. Watching the baboons is very inter-

esting, but we did see some spine-chilling behavior dis-

turbing stuff tends to come from the zoo visitors.

Figure 7: The Monkey Mountain in Alexandria zoo.

Next along the path, there is a waterfowl pond, a

large pond with a fountain and some trees on an island

in the middle (Figure 8). The pond is home to several

white pelicans (which you can feed), swan geese, do-

mestic geese and ducks and the odd wild egret who flies

in occasionally.

Figure 8: The water pond with an island in the middle.

Nearby there are two single hippo enclosures.

Though not huge, they are each of a reasonable size for

a single hippo. You can feed the hippo outside or enter

the house and feed one of them up close.


Also next to the waterfowl pond is a pair of enclo-

sures, each with a large pool, one for flamingos and one

for white storks.

Groups of the public were gathering on the floors (Fig-

ure 9), pavements and grasses to have their picnics, to

have lunch and rest.

Figure 9: A family having lunch on the pavement.

Groups of boys were walking around the place with

drums disturbing visitors and animals (Figure 10). Some

people use motorcycles inside the place. The public in-

side the zoo are gathering around the most attracted fea-

tures according to their opinion (Figure 11 and 12).

Figure 10: A group of people setting on a fence and singing

.

Figure 11: A map that represents the distributions of animals

in the zoo. (Alexandria zoo (Egypt) Facebook page, 2012)

Figure 12: Alexandria zoo map illustrating the important

gathering points inside the zoo.(Alexandria library, 2013)

1- In front of the polar bear cage where there is a wide empty

space used to be a fountain in the lower level, 2- Around the

water pond in the upper level, 3- In front of the lions’ house, 4-

Around the zoo’s tower in the middle of the zoo, 5- In front of

the elephant’s cage.

Through the tour inside the zoo, it is noted that the ser-

vices were not distributed regularly; they were spreading

here and there in no order preventing the vision of the

visitors to enjoy the view or being an obstacle in their

way while walking around the place.

There are no security guards inside the zoo, only the

zoo keepers who keep eyes on the animals in their cages.

No one was capable of taking care of the regulations and

rules that must be applied inside or to take care of the

visitors‟ safety inside the zoo.

The clinic of the zoo was locked (Figure 13) and it is

not used anymore. Also the administration building

(Figure 14) of the zoo was locked and no one is allowed

to get inside.

Figure 13: The clinic Figure 14: The administration

building from outside. building’s door of the zoois locked.

On interviewing the zoo‟s visitors and asking them

questions about the zoo, their responses were having

many common points on criticizing the zoo‟s conditions

and services, in addition to their demands that they wish

to have inside the place.

The interview was taken on the weekend with ran-

dom visitors of the zoo. The interviewee were males and


females with different ages, oldies and kids and from

different standards, they were all asked the same ques-

tions. The first question that was asked to the interview-

ee was how often you come to the zoo; most answers

came to be from one to two times a month. A lady in

mid-30‟s with her 2 kids a boy (5 years old) and a girl (7

years old) responds “I come to the zoo every weekend-

meaning 4 times a month- with my kids; I love animals

so do my kids, we come to feed them and to watch them,

despite that there are so little number of animals in the

zoo nowadays”, another lady in mid-40‟s was with three

other ladies of same ages and their five kids their ages

ranged from 2-8 years old responds “ We come to the

zoo once every year, the fees are so high for us to come

with our kids every month, we don‟t have car so we hire

one to get us here and it costs much money, in addition

to the extra fees that we paid inside the zoo for every

service, so we can only afford the fees for such a visit

every month, that‟s why we come once a year.

For the question of why you come to the zoo; the

answers are nearly the same, they all goes around having

fun, playing, watching animals and feeding them. A man

in beginnings of 40‟s with his wife with their kids, a girl

(9 years old) and a boy (5 years old) responds “We come

to the zoo to make the our kids play, have fun, watch

animals and change the routine” but his wife disturbs

him saying “But the zoo needs to be maintained to be

more compatible with the huge number of kids that visit

it every day, The services and the security must be more

controlled”. A lady in 50‟s responds was with her hus-

band and children, they are two boys one (20 years old)

and the other is (17 years old) responds (We come to the

zoo for recreation and relaxation and have fun but the

available places inside the zoo to set and have our picnic

is so limited and the cafeterias present very bad services

compared to the prices they ask for.”. A lady in 20‟s

with her girl (4 years old) responds “I come with my girl

because she loves to feed the animals; we only spend an

hour or two have fun and leave”.

The question of what are the means of transportation

you use to get to the zoo, most of the answers were by

taxis or by mini buses or by car. A man in the 50‟s, his

wife and their baby girl responds “We live in a far place,

we use three means of public transportation to reach the

zoo that cause to increase the fees that we spend to come

visit the zoo, and we hope to have a direct mean of

transportation from our place direct to the zoo”. Another

man in the beginnings of 40‟s with his three girls (5, 7, 9

years old) responds “ We come here with our privet car,

but the problem is that there is no parking for the zoo

visitors, the visitor have to park his car in the street in

front of the zoo which is not safe”.

The question concerning the services that the zoo

serves was the shocking one. All the answers were nega-

tive answers towards the All the visitors complain about

the services of the zoo and say that the zoo‟s services

should be promoted, not only for the visitors‟ services

but also the animals‟ services. A man in 30‟s with his

wife and his girl (6 years old), they were tourists from

Libya, it is the first time to visit the zoo. He responds

“We will never come here again, the way of people here

in treating us as foreigners is very rude, we pay extra

fees for every service we ask for, the quality of the ser-

vices is so bad corresponding to their fees, we even pay

four times the price of the tickets to get inside the zoo.

There are no maps, diagrams, or signs to help us in our

tour inside the zoo. Add to that the place is so poor and

there are so little numbers of animals, the cages are not

organized and look and smell bad”. The man with the

three girls responds “There is no suitable furniture to be

used, all benches and seats are damaged and people use

it in these conditions because there is no other option”.

A girl in her 20‟s was sitting alone eating all the floor

responds “The people controlling the places which are

suitable to set and eat, ask for extra fees and my family

can‟t afford it as we are 12 persons, so we spread on the

floor and have lunch”. The lady with her only girl re-

sponds “The toilets her is a disaster, there is only one

females‟ toilet and one males‟ toilet located in a far

place in the zoo where it is hard to reach and if reached

its conditions are very bad that it can‟t be used” then she

noted “The clinic of the zoo is closed, meaning that if

anyone get harmed or injured, there will be a big prob-

lem to rescue him”.

13. CONCLUDED STANDARDS CRITERIA

According to the previous studyings and analysis, a cri-

teria for the standards of zoos that should be applied in

any zoo is concluded. There are some aspects that affect

directly the quality of the zoo and the role which it pre-

sents.

13.1. ECONOMIC STANDARDS

Zoos can be considered one of the important sources of

income. Millions of people visit the zoo every year, so

the zoo should provide the following; Zoos are from the

places which the public class considers the main destina-

tion for recreation and leisure, the tickets fee should be

reasonable and accessible for to all people which all

their standards and cultures, the inside services should

be controlled and observed by the administration of the

zoo, the inside activities fees should meet the ability of

the public standards visiting such places, the national

governmental organization should provide zoos with

financial support to help them in promoting.

13.2. ENVIRONMINTAL STANDARDS

Zoos are a specialized type of gardens. Air, water, bo-

tanical life and wastes are main features in zoos. Water

ponds and water features should be renewed and main-

tained periodically. Leaving this water un-cleaned for a

long time convert it into contaminated polluted water,

animal wastes should be cleaned, accumulated wastes


causes air pollution, taking care of the botanical life in-

side the zoo is a must.

13.3. WELFARE STANDARDS

Zoos are constructed to protect the endangered species

& the animals that are near to extinction. In order to

represent this role effectively, zoos should have con-

tained these features, the animals' cages need to be as

much as possible equivalent to the environment where

the animals live in nature, appropriate supply of food &

water need to be served to them, medical services are

essential services that animals should have periodically,

zoos should follow the guidelines of the animal rights

organization in protecting endangered animals.

13.4. SOCIAL STANDARDS

Zoo is a place where people go to have a different recre-

ational experience and to get closer to the animal world.

Such places should have, more attraction features addi-

tional to animals like museums, exhibitions or periodical

events, playing areas should be suitable for kids to use,

gathering areas should be obviously noticed inside the

place. It should be supplied with its services.

13.5. SERVICES STANDARDS

The inside services of zoos are from the main points that

affect the public attraction to zoos. A map for the zoo or

a tour guide are two important ways helping to facilitate

the visitors in their tour inside the zoo, restaurants and

cafes with good services act as points of attraction, toi-

lets and public services should be in good quality and

distributed well inside the place and near to the public

gathering points.

13.6. EDUCATIONAL AND RESEARCH STAND-

ARDS

Zoos can help in the educational process and research

about animals and their lives. In order to help in this

process the following standards should be applied; the

educational process or the research process should not

harm the animals from any physiological or psychologi-

cal side, this process should be carried out by experi-

enced specialists in this domain, information resources

should be presented on demand, a library should be at-

tached to the zoo having all the data and information

concerning the zoo and the animals in it and it should be

available to the staff member and public as well.

13.7. SAFETY AND SECURITY STANDARDS

Zoos are places where there is always a direct interac-

tion between public and animals. Safety procedures

should be clearly enforced inside the place. Experienced

keepers should be present to watch after the animals and

observe their safety especially at the time when animals

are in a direct contact with the public. Security guards

should be wandering inside the zoo, taking care of the

visitors and their safety inside the place.

13.8. TRANSPORTATION

The government must supply the country with suitable

means of transportations from fixed known areas to the

zoo with reasonable fees.

A parking service should be available to cars or buses

transporting the visitors.

14. FINDINGS

According to the personal observation, the unstructured

interview that was taken with the zoo‟s visitors, the col-

lected data and the concluded standards, these are the

findings. Visitors have not been significantly exposed to

the changing roles of zoos in the world of accelerating

man- inflicted biodiversity loss.

Regarding the reasons for visiting the zoo (Figure15),

45% of the interviewees visit the zoo for leisure and

entertainment, 36% to bring their children, followed by

14% interest in knowing animals and 4% has different

motives like working in the zoo or selling products in-

side the zoo or having other activities.

Figure 15: Graph showing the percentage of people regard-

ing their reason of visiting the zoo.

There are number of problems face the zoo and its visi-

tors‟. The economic problems such as that the zoo faced

lots of issues that needed a financial support which was

not present, therefor it increases the tickets‟ fees to help

in increasing their financial income allowing them keep

operating. However, increasing the ticket fee formed a

problem for zoo‟s visitor because of the living standard

of people visiting such places can‟t afford such cost sev-

eral times per month. Also the extra fees those are re-

quired inside the zoo in return of any service like riding

the camel or feeding the bears forms a financial problem

for the visitors as they are more load on them consider-

ing the high ticket‟s fee.

The environmental problems such as the garbage is

strewn everywhere. The water in the water bonds is con-

taminated, polluted and full of wastes, spreading an aw-

ful smell all around the place. In addition to that the ugly

view which it present to the place. Animal wastes are

spread all inside the animals‟ cages. The botanical life


inside the zoo is neglected, not only there is no one to

take care of it but also the way people treat the present

life causes its deterioration.

The animal welfare problems are one of the greatest

problems facing the zoo. Animals are considered the

attraction feature in any zoo. Alexandria zoo faces a

huge problem in this point due to continuous loss in the

number of animals in the zoo. Many animals have died

recently in the zoo and they are not replaced by other

ones. The cages are very poor an unsuitable to be ani-

mals shelters. The animals themselves are so weak and

bored due to their health care neglection and bad feeding

habits. The way of treatment the animals get from some

of the visitors who don‟t have sufficient awareness in

treating animals. There are three conceptions affecting

animal welfare in zoos which are natural living, basic

health and functioning and affective organizations.

All the services inside the zoo facing problems start-

ing from the entrance that there is no map for the zoo as

well there are no directing signs. The cafeterias‟ services

are with very bad quality. The toilets are in a very bad

condition and away from the points of visitors gathering.

There is no medical service inside the zoo. There are no

points of attraction inside the zoo except animals. The

museum is closed. The playgrounds and the amusement

park are so poor to be used. The garden‟s furniture are

damaged and destroyed.

There is no mean of security and safety inside the

zoo. No security guards only the zoo keepers who

watch after the animals. There is no one to make sure

that zoo‟s regulations and rules are applied inside the

place whether for visitors actions or for visitors treat-

ment to animals.

There is no direct mean of transportation from the

city center or any station to take the visitors to the zoo.

Visitors have to depend on themselves to reach the zoo,

using different mean of public transportations and some

of them use more than one mean to get to the zoo. Visi-

tors who have privet car will face the problem of no

parking; they will have to park their own cars in the

street which is not safe for the car.

15. CONCLUSION

Through this paper it is clarified the role that zoos pre-

sent in our life. Zoos are identified as sites of conserva-

tion, research, education, and entertainment.

There are certain recommendations that the zoo should

apply to be an ideal zoo. The zoos conditions in Egypt

are deteriorating day by day. Current conditions and

problems in Alexandria Zoo (El Nozha) have been ob-

served and mentioned in the paper previously as a case

study. Alexandria Zoo was a sample of the zoos in

Egypt and the neglection and deterioration that is hap-

pening in it is the same to what is happing in all the zoos

in Egypt. Physical enrichment, cognitive enrichment,

social enrichment, environmental enrichment and nutri-

tion are demands to stop what is happening in zoos and

to increase the public awareness about such places. An-

imal welfare should be promoted and efforts towards

preventing the endangered species. Working on the

Egyptian zoos to gain the membership of World Associ-

ation of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) will give a hand

to such places to be more effective and efficient. Further

researches needed to find solutions for the clarified

problems facing such places and its visitors as well.

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Zoos as Recreational Places and Its Impact on the Egyptian Society Alexandria Zoo (El Nozha), Egypt as case study

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