Dohuk: As the coronavirus pandemic upended life, a Kurdish lion owner Mohammed Abdulhamid gave his lion away after worrying that a lockdown would prevent him from securing food for the animal.
Abdulhamid left his lion at the care of the Dohuk Zoo.
"I brought him here to avoid any risk on my family as well as on the lion," he says.
To prevent the spread of the coronavirus, life came to a near standstill as cities went into isolation and stores shut down.
Abdulhamid says it was becoming impossible during the lockdown to find food or secure other needs for the big cat.
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Last month, Dohuk celebrated with fireworks a victory over the coronavirus.
The lockdown and curfew have been lifted in the city but the lion remains at the zoo.
The 11-month-old lion Sultan is an African male purchased in Iran. Abdulhamid brought him home when he was just a cub.
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Since giving him away, Abdulhamid has been visiting the animal at the zoo twice a week.
He says Sultan remembers him and is usually very eager to see him.
Lion trainer at Dohuk Zoo Bilal Sami thinks differently about the big cats. "It will not be the same animal as it was at home, it will forget that, especially with lions because they have very short memories," he says.
"They forget things within seconds," Sami adds.
Nevertheless, when Abdulhamid regularly visits Sultan and plays with him.
The lion's new home in the zoo is surrounded by the cages of many other animals including monkeys and squirrels.
Sami says many pet owners brought their animals to the zoo because of the coronavirus-measures. Most were turned away by the zoo administration for safety reasons and the lion was an exception. The zoo took him in, fearing there would be dangerous consequences if he were left at home, according to Sami.
Zoos inspire debate around the world and are frequently in the news.
While public outcry continues on the subject of keeping wild animals in captivity, many institutions work hard to maintain healthy homes for their animals and work toward research and conservation.
(AP)
