The trials of life
By : Celia Barnes
In the great biblical flood, Noah used his ark to save the animals. During the Warsaw flood, it was wire cages and sedatives.
While hordes of spectators crowded the Wisla's bridges last Monday night to witness the giant flood wave that was supposed to surge along the river's sandy banks, the animals at nearby Warsaw Zoo were on evacuation alert.
Like a modern-day Noah, Warsaw Zoo Director Jan Maciej Rembiszewski, along with 67 staff, spent the day busily preparing cages and sedatives to move animals to higher ground, should the Wisla which flows along the bottom of the 40-hectare zoo flood the zoo's lower areas.
"We estimated that up to half the zoo could flood so we decided we had to move those animals at risk and some of our more valuable animals including our cheetahs and the five cubs they had this year, our wolves, and our white storks," said Rembiszewski, 63, who has been zoo director for the past 20 years.
"All the hoofed animals like horses and antelopes would be let loose in the zoo grounds because they can find their own way to the unflooded areas. In situations like this, the hoofed animals show some solidarity and they won't attack each other."
Not so the wild animals like lions, tigers and polar bears. If the Wisla had risen about the 70 centimeters Rembiszewski was anticipating, the whole zoo would have flooded and Rembiszewski said there was no way they could save all the animals.
"In a case like that, as a very responsible person I would have to shoot the most dangerous animals. Not only because they would be dangerous for people if they were released, but so they wouldn't suffer drowning."
But, thankfully, by midnight the giant wave never materialized and while the spectators went home disappointed Rembiszewski and his staff slept soundly that night: exhausted and happy that their zoo was again safe.
It's a sad reflection of the zoo's plight that Rembiszewski said in some ways flooding could have worked to the zoo's advantage.
"Because I could write a letter to the government offices in Warsaw and say I need money to renovate the zoo," Rembiszewski said, adding that this happened at Opole Zoo in 1997 after floods surged through northeastern Poland. Animals were evacuated to nearby Wroclaw zoo, some dying in the process from shock and stress.
Rembiszewski said Warsaw Zoo, which participates in 34 world breeding programs for endangered species, receives an annual budget of zl. 6 million ($1.4 million) from the Warsaw city authorities. The zoo earns around zl. 6 million from ticket sales and sponsors. It's enough to cover costs, but any additional money for investments is a battle.
The zoo, which houses 470 species and more than 3,000 animals, receives around 600,000 visitors a year.
"Funding is a big problem; especially at the moment," Rembiszewski said. "We have a zoo foundation, PANDA, which is for the development of the zoo, but there's not a lot of money. We don't have wealthy sponsors."
The zoo received a special payment of zl. 12 million ($2.84 million) to replace their substandard elephant enclosure; and life insurance giant PZU Zycie has earmarked $60,000 for the zoo to buy a new elephant after two of its elephants, 51-year-old Rajah and 53-year-old Sonia, died of old age.
In the light of PZU Zycie's recent monetary scandals, Rembiszewski is wondering if the cash will ever materialize. But luckily Rembiszewski, a gentle-mannered tall man who rarely wears anything but khaki, said he gets on with most Polish political parties left, right and center.
"It's only rarely that I have to threaten them and say if I don't get what I want, next time I'll bring a tiger with me and put it straight into their office."
