DUBAI, July 28 (RIA Novosti) – A weeks-long protest in support of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi in Cairo is sending animals at a nearby zoo into panic, the widely circulated Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram (The Pyramids) reported Sunday.
Fearing attacks by police after the country’s Interior Ministry vowed to disband the rally, demonstrators have installed powerful spotlights around the gathering in Cairo’s Al-Nahda Square to ward off possible armed encounters at night, the newspaper said.
However, the bright lights are shining into the nearby zoo and stirring up a frenzy among the sleep-deprived animals, who are not used to unnatural light, the report said, citing a zoo management representative.
“The park has a lot of tigers, lions and zebras who until recently had only seen the sun rise and set, and used that for orientation. We don’t have any artificial lighting; everything here is as close as possible to the natural environment. But now these protestors are lighting up the park at night with spotlights in fear of attack. The animals are panicking,” the zoo official was quoted as saying.
Zookeepers are working overtime to care for the animals, the official said, adding that “this situation cannot continue; the animals are suffering. The people in the square are not heeding our calls; we have asked the authorities to put an end to this.”
