Saving the Baghdad Zoo: A True Story of Hope and Heroes by Kelly Milner Halls and Major William Sumner. This is the amazing story of the resurrection of the zoo and its animal population. The zoo was once the home to more than 600 magnificent animals. But, after the war in Iraq began in 2003, the city faced widespread destruction.
When U.S. Captain William Sumner was asked to check out the state of the zoo he found that it, too, was devastated. Hundreds of animals were missing and those that still remained were in desperate need of care.
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The book tells the story of tremendous compassion , courage and love generated by a team of people who came from our armed forces, Iraq and the world over to help Captain Sumner help the animals. Meet abandoned lions who roamed the empty palace with no food or drink, the camel Lumpy who survived (along with his rescuers) the transport through sniper fire and the poor pelican that did not have access to clean water, food or shade, and was tethered to a 3 foot length of rope.
This is a story of renewal and rebirth and of how people with many back rounds came together, putting their lives on the line, to save a very desperate group of animals. In so doing did they not only give the animal a bright future, but provided the families of Iraq a place of peace and hope.
While you probably can’t make it to the Baghdad Zoo this summer, there are plenty of zoos in California you can visit. Check out this video from the San Diego Zoo about one of their special pandas.
And if you want to know more about pandas, check out some of these fun books.
