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Here’s a strange and sad piece of news out of the Gaza strip. It concerns the Marah Land Zoo in Gaza City. Earlier this year, it seems that the military situation in Gaza contributed to the deaths of some of the zoo’s animals. According to zoo keepers, two zebras starved to death. So now they’ve resorted to artifice to keep ”zebras” on display. The zoo hired a professional painter. And he gave two white donkeys zebra-like stripes, using French hair dye.

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KATY CLARK: Andrea Crossan’s report was funded in part by a fellowship from the International Reporting Project.  And here’s another news item about a lack of animals.  Not lions, but zebras.  This comes from the Gaza Strip.   It concerns the Marah Land Zoo in Gaza City.  According to zookeepers, two zebras starved to death during the military conflict with Israel last January.  So the zoo has come up with a creative way to replace the missing animals.  It took two white donkeys, some masking tape, and black hair dye, and it hired a professional painter to give the animals zebra-like stripes.

NIDAL BAROOD: And now that’s ever been.

CLARK: The zoo’s administrator, Nidal Barood, said he created the fake zebras for two reasons.

First, he said the zoo smuggles all animals from Egypt through tunnels, and it’s difficult to smuggle zebras.  And second, he said zebras are very expensive.  Besides, according to news reports from Gaza the local children don’t seem to mind that their new zebras are, well, not quite authentic.

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