Channels

Photo: Reuters
Saadi Jamal with cubs
Photo: Reuters

Lion cubs turn into stars of Gaza family

After Rafah zoo hit by financial troubles, Palestinian Authority worker brings home two little lions, delighting family and neighbors.

Two lion cubs have become the star members of a family living in a Gaza refugee camp because of the weak economy in the coastal Palestinian territory.

 

 

A cash-starved zoo in Rafah, in the southern Strip, sold the cubs to Saadi Jamal, a Palestinian Authority security employee who has taken them home – to the delight of his four children and their neighbors.

 

Lion cub with Gazan children (Photo: AFP)
Lion cub with Gazan children (Photo: AFP)

Cub learns to play with basketball (Photo: AFP)
Cub learns to play with basketball (Photo: AFP)

For the past 10 weeks, "they've been living in the house like members of the family", he told AFP. The children in the three-room apartment and their local friends "play all day long with the cubs".

 

Saadi Jamal with cubs (Photo: Reuters)
Saadi Jamal with cubs (Photo: Reuters)

 

But this extended family comes at a price.

 

Jamal disciplines the young kings of the jungle (Photo: Reuters)
Jamal disciplines the young kings of the jungle (Photo: Reuters)

 

They gobble up one pound of meat a day, a tall order in Gaza – blockaded by both Israel and Egypt – where prices have soared since the 50-day summer war between militants in the strip, led by Hamas, and the IDF.

 

Neighbors play with cubs (Photo: AFP)
Neighbors play with cubs (Photo: AFP)

 

"Once they turn five months," Jamal plans to make some money by leasing the cubs out to amusement parks, seaside resorts, and restaurants.

 

Family with one of the lions (Photo: Reuters)
Family with one of the lions (Photo: Reuters)

 

Jamal has even received a $9000 offer to buy them, but he won't say how much he paid the zoo.

 


פרסום ראשון: 03.20.15, 22:01
 new comment
Warning:
This will delete your current comment