Masked gunmen steal lion cub from zoo
Masked men carrying Kalashnikov guns have stolen a four-month-old lion cub, named Sabrina, from the Gaza Strip’s only zoo.
Park director Soud al-Shawaa said they tried to steal her cage mate Sakher, as well, but he was stronger and resisted.
The men also made off with two parrots – prized for their ability to speak several words in Arabic.
Police originally asked the zoo to keep the theft a secret so as not to hamper their investigation.
But two weeks later they have heard nothing of Sabrina and hope that the publicity will help track her down. The zoo has also offered a reward.
“Now you see we are forced to put armed guards at this zoo to protect our animals and birds,” al-Shawaa told APTN television today.
Sakher has been traumatized by the loss of Sabrina, refusing to eat his meat and acting listless, al-Shawaa said.
The Gaza zoo opened last month – a sign of normalisation for many Palestinians looking for improvement in their lives after Israel withdrew from the coastal strip in September.
The strip’s previous zoo in the border town of Rafah was destroyed in an Israeli army operation in 2004.
Life in Gaza has been especially chaotic in recent months as gunmen take control of the streets after Palestinian security forces were weakened in more than five years of fighting with Israel.
Palestinian officials told the Israeli Yediot Ahronot newspaper that militants may have stolen the cub as a show of strength.
