Monkeys, lions, tiger, porcupines and crocodiles were all left to rot away in their enclosures at the animal park

Zoo owner Mohammed Awaida claimed staff couldn't get to the zoo because of the Palestinian and Israeli conflict

Dozens of animals have wasted away from thirst or hunger at Khan Younis zoo in the impoverished Gaza Strip


Flies buzz around the emaciated body of a lion as it decays in the sun; nearby the mummified corpse baboon lies on the ground- it's head still tilted up as though looking out of its enclosure, across from it a porcupine's brittle spines protrude from its lifeless body.

They are among the dozens of animals which have died at Khan Younis zoo in the impoverished Gaza Strip after they were left without food.

Zoo owner Mohammed Awaida has blamed the Palestinian and Israeli conflict for the tragedy- claiming it meant that staff were unable to feed or care properly for the animals at the zoo.

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Dozens of neglected animals have died at a zoo in Gaza City after the facility's owner claimed he was unable to feed or care for them because of the Israeli Palestinian conflict

Mr Awaida said he opened the 'South Forest Park' in 2007, only to lose a number of animals during Israel's military offensive against Hamas that began in December 2008. During the three-week offensive, launched in response to rocket attacks on Israel, Awaida said he could not reach the zoo, and many animals died of neglect and starvation.

And it appears that history has repeated itself.

The fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants escalated last summer killing more than 1,960 Palestinians and 67 people on the Israeli side.

The mummified corpse of this baboon, pictured in its enclosure next to the bodies of several other monkeys, died at Khan Younis zoo

Palestinian workers came back to find many of the zoo's animals had died including this small monkey

This beautiful tiger was one of many that dies from hunger or thirst after the zoo owner said Gaza region's conflict with Israel made it impossible for staff to reach it

Mr Awaida said he opened the 'South Forest Park' in 2007, only to lose a number of animals during Israel's military offensive against Hamas that began in December 2008

Once again unable to reach the zoo, animals died of neglect and starvation. They include a little monkey, which died in its enclosure- its teeth still clenched together. In another enclosure, a Palestinian zoo worker inspects the remnants of a crocodile.

Khan Younis is one of five zoos in the Gaza Strip, a densely populated coastal enclave of 1.7million people ruled by Islamic Hamas militants.

With no government body in Gaza that oversees zoos, and no animal rights movement in the region, the Khan Younis facility is virtually unsupervised.

Care is basic. There is no zookeeper on the premises and medical treatment is done by consulting over the phone with zoo veterinarians in Egypt.

The zoo has a tradition of stuffing and embalming those that die and return them to their enclosures. The centre had ten embalmed animals on dismay in makeshift exhibits — fashioned from fencing salvaged from Jewish settlements that Israel dismantled in 2005.

But after losing dozens of the zoo's 65 live animals, which included ostriches, monkeys, turtles, deer, a llama, a lion and a tiger, the numbers of dead animals may risk outnumbering the living.

A palestinian worker is seen inspecting the body of a dead crocodile at the zoo in Khan Younis, in the Gaze strip

This little monkey, which died in its enclosure with its teeth still clenched together, has been dead for some time

With no government body in Gaza that oversees zoos, and no animal rights movement in the region, the Khan Younis facility is virtually unsupervised

This porcupine's brittle spines protrude from its lifeless body, it's eyes pecked out, after being deprived of food

Mr Awaida began using his rudimentary taxidermy skills on deceased animals at the zoo after the Gaza war began.

'The idea to mummify animals started after the Gaza war because a number of animals like the lion, the tiger, monkeys and crocodiles died,' he said previously. So we asked around and we learned from the Web how to start.'

Formaldehyde and sawdust provided the basic tools, though Awaida acknowledged he was no expert. A hole in the porcupine's head is impossible not to notice.

Gaza's zoos are used to resorting to odd ways to get by amid the territory's multiple woes. In 2009, a zoo in Gaza City exhibited white donkeys painted with black stripes to look like zebras because it was too expensive to replace two zebras who were neglected during the Israeli offensive.

In the West Bank city of Qalqilya, zoo veterinarian Sami Khader turned to taxidermy nine years ago when a giraffe named Brownie died during the second Palestinian uprising against Israel.

Hassan Azzam, director of the veterinary services department in Gaza's ministry of agriculture, said: 'We have humble capabilities,' but the ministry encourages zoos.

When staff do get to the zoo, there care is basic- there is no zookeeper on the premises and medical treatment is done by consulting over the phone with zoo veterinarians in Egypt

The zoo did have 65 live animals, which included ostriches, monkeys, turtles, deer, a llama, a lion and a tiger

The zoo has a tradition of stuffing and embalming those that die and return them to their enclosures which could be the fate of some of the better preserved animals

This baboon's face and eyes have already begun to rot away after it was deprived of water and food by staff at the zoo who claim they were unable to reach them

A few animals have survived the long periods without food or proper care at the Khan Younis zoo- such as this pelican