I visited Alexandria Zoo on a whim, whilst I was in the city, and whilst I didn't take a full index of every species, and its been a couple months since I went, here's what I remember seeing. Mammals Brown bear American black bear Asian black bear Spotted hyena Lion Sika deer/fallow deer Nile lechwe African crested porcupine Red fox (nile ssp.) Barbary sheep Olive baboon Yellow baboon (?) Hamadryas baboon Macaque sp. Patas monkey (ssp. patas) Grivet monkey (listed as Chlorocebus aethiops) Common mona monkey Dromedary camel Domestic goat Common hippopotamus Scimitar horned oryx Dorcas gazelle Birds African sacred ibis White stork Greater flamingo Great white pelican Swan goose Egyptian goose Peafowl Domestic pigeons Emu Ostrich Lanner falcon Long-legged buzzard Great spotted eagle Various macaw and cockatoo species (zoo staples, nothing too exciting) Zebra finch Herps Nile crocodile Pond slider Desert monitor (Varanus griseus) Pancake tortoise Radiated tortoise Additional tortoise species (photos in gallery) Egyptian cobra Petting zoo area with usual suspects (e.g goats, alpaca, chickens) There was also the carnivore enclosures which was full of people taking photos with baby lions, which I wasn't comfortable with so I left quickly - it's possible I missed something. I didn't see any jackals or mongoose, and overall there wasn't much emphasis on native fauna. I went out of morbid curiosity, knowing that the zoo doesn't have the best reputation, and I was still saddened by what I saw. Obviously the zoo has nowhere near the funding of anything in Europe and ethical standards for zoo animals are markedly different than what I'm used to, but I was still quite shocked. Not sure I'd recommend it to the casual tourist.
Ive uploaded some of the photos from this trip. There were many enclosures and animals that I found so depressing that I couldn't take photos of them, especially of the large carnivores (bears and cats)
Thanks for the species list. Perhaps we should be thankful that Alexandria Zoo has only around 50 exotic species in its collection these days, as I've heard many bad things about this outdated zoo. In past years, they had a much more substantial animal collection and I can only imagine the poor quality of the exhibits.
It's an issue for which I don't think there's an easy solution. No self-respecting, non zoo-obssessed tourist would ever visit in its current state and therefore the revenue from locals (even as a popular family day-out) isn't enough for any significant change. AND that's assuming the money went back into husbandry and not the pockets of owners or the many people who sell food for animals outside every individual enclosure or the guys who are charging for photos of visitors holding baby lions. But I still hold out hope
