Ghana Existence: Ghana’s Zoos in the 1970s
When one particular thinks of Africa a single instantly phone calls to head its spectacular wildlife, especially its large mammals. Although the massive 5 are primarily related with eastern and central Africa some of them however roam in the considerably less densely populated areas of forest and grassland of the West. The Cote d’Ivoire could not have got its title without having elephants and these biggest of all land animals attribute prominently in the traditional oral literature of Ghana. Therefore it was with some pleasure that even though resident in Kumasi in the 1970s just one looked forward to visits to the zoos in Kumasi and in the capital, Accra.
The go to to Kumasi Zoo took position early in 1971 when Ghana was nevertheless rather affluent. Of class, men and women at that time complained about widespread poverty and a corrupt administration, but in comparison to what lay in keep a number of yrs later on these were being halcyon times below the democratic rule of Key Minister Dr Kofi Busia. At the very least they could nonetheless manage to feed the animals. There ended up not far too lots of to feed and what was there appeared to have been donated by zoos in other nations around the world. Hurrying to the elephant enclosure one particular predicted to see superb creatures from the African plains. The 1 lone specimen on exhibit was superb sufficient but its ears have been way too small. It hailed from India, a reward of the Indian federal government.
Eager to find some regional animals, a search began for something that arrived from Africa, and primarily from Ghana. Memory has pale over more than forty a long time but the crocodiles are effectively remembered. While they had been described as of the selection associated with the River Nile, they had been reported to have been pulled from the waters of the Volta. The instead smaller specimens crowded into a congested pond were not nearly as outstanding as the supposedly tame monsters that entertain tourists by emerging from the sacred pond at Paga on a get in touch with and the lure of a chicken. No doubt crocodiles are also partial to pigs, and the a person actually regional animal remembered from the stop by to Kumasi Zoo in 1971 was a wild pig or boar reported to be indigenous to the forests of Ashanti. In summary, Kumasi Zoo at that time could be described as a courageous try to operate a little provincial zoo on a restricted funds in a younger building region.
The visit to Accra Zoo was built several years later when the financial state had experienced the ravages of kalebule below the Acheampong military services routine. The effect of the economic decline was such as to current a scenario that still left few persons unmoved and loaded animal fans with despair. Most likely the the very least said the greater, but the head can’t dispel the pitiable spectacles of a dead giraffe spread full duration across its limited enclosure and a male lion barely ready to stand with huge pleading eyes and skeletal frame. It was obvious that at a time when each individual human becoming was hungry there was very little to spare for the animals. If any assets were being remaining allocated to the zoo, they ended up probably going to feed the keepers and their families. It was astonishing that the zoo remained open to the general public in that condition.
Hopefully, the zoos of Ghana have enhanced because the 1970s. On the other hand, the present day visitor intent on a study of the nearby fauna is advised to head north to the Mole Nationwide Park wherever the wildlife has been secured in excess of a wide region for various decades and there are affordable prospective customers of observing elephant and baboon cost-free in their purely natural habitat. For individuals in lookup of a distinctive thrill there is normally the opportunity to travel to Ghana’s extreme northern border and stroke the previous of the dinosaurs on the banking institutions of the sacred pond at Paga.
