BAGHDAD Baghdad's Al-Zawraa zoo is enjoying a boom, and not just in attendance - its Siberian tigers gave birth to twins this summer, part of a rush of new arrivals swelling the park's population.

From the dark days of 2003, in the aftermath of the US-led invasion which left the zoo in shambles, the central Baghdad attraction is enjoying a surge in visitor numbers as security in the capital improves and its animal population soars.

“It means a lot to me,” the zoo's director Adil Salman Mousa says, as the twin tigers, who have not yet been named, prowl and play behind him.

“After the war, we reached a point where the US told us to close the zoo because there was nothing left, but we were convinced we could bring it back.”

The 53-year-old proudly lists the accomplishments at Al-Zawraa in recent years in addition to the Siberian tiger babies, who are three months old, the zoo has also seen the birth of a Bengal tiger, now aged two months, as well as bears, gazelles and stags.

Then there are the animals the zoo has received from around the world two jaguars arrived just days ago and are in quarantine, while other new arrivals include crocodiles and chimpanzees, with zebras due within days and giraffes and elephants on the way next year.

In all, Al-Zawraa houses more than 1,000 animals, a far cry from the dozen or so in the immediate aftermath of the invasion, when hundreds of beasts were killed, stolen or died of hunger and thirst in their cages.

At the time, shortly after the invasion, Mousa returned to the zoo, once the biggest in the Middle East, at great personal risk to try and save the few surviving animals, and in time, he secured overseas funds and support from international conservationists to build it up again.

The growth in animal numbers has paralleled an increase in the number of visitors as Baghdad and Iraq have become safer - a US general told reporters earlier this month that across the country, civilian deaths and injuries as a result of violence have dropped by 90 per cent since June 2007.

The only good place to come with family

“In the first few years after the war, violence was everywhere, so few people came, but in 2007 there were 120,000 visitors throughout the year,” Mousa says.

That figure rose to more than a million in 2008, and already more than two million this year, he adds, as families begin looking for public spaces to spend time together and people look for peaceful areas to relax away from home.

The zoo's figures show that around a million people visited over the Eidul Fitr holiday in September that followed the fasting month of Ramazan.

“This is the only good place in Baghdad to come with your family,” says Ahmed Hassan, a 29-year-old software engineer, as he cradles his newborn daughter Aya in his arms.

“Years ago, when I felt sad and didn't want to sit at home, I would come here.”

The zoo also remains an affordable trip for a large Iraqi family while a ticket to Iraq's National Theatre costs 10,000 dinars (8.7 dollars), adults pay 500 dinars (40 cents) each for entrance to Al-Zawraa and children under the age of 10 get in free.

Taeeba, a 12-year-old who stood and watched as zoo keepers fed the baby tigers - they eat around one kilogram of meat per day, about a tenth of their parents' consumption, according to Mousa - said that on her third trip to the zoo this year, she had only so far seen “the big tiger”.

“We didn't know there were babies - I'm so excited to see them, they are so cute!” she said as the twins, measuring around 60 centimetres in length, roamed through grass behind a short metal fence.

“I'd love to have one like that to play with,” added the girl, who was visiting with her parents and two younger brothers.

Taeeba's family was one of dozens at the zoo on a recent Saturday, many seeking the refuge of the shade for picnics or to splash their faces with water after a morning spent taking in the attractions.

The situation is a marked departure from around 18 months ago, when security in Baghdad and across Iraq was lacking and many families elected to just stay at home, rather than risk the sectarian violence that engulfed the country.

But while Al-Zawraa has come a long way in the past six years, Mousa is not satisfied and has big plans for further expansion and improvement.

“Most people, they love the zoo - everyone says it's a great zoo, but we want to make it better,” he says.—AFP