Big cats rescued from Uday's 'macho reserve'

The Scotsman ^ | April 26, 2003 | MARGARET NEIGHBOUR

[MadIvan]

ALLIED troops and Kuwaiti zoo-keepers came to the rescue yesterday of six young lions and two cheetahs languishing in the private zoo of Saddam Hussein’s eldest son, Uday.

Under the watch of a dozen armed soldiers, the animals were coaxed into cages with lumps of raw meat. They were then taken by military truck from the fenced compound in Uday’s section of his father’s Baghdad palace to a new home in the city’s main zoo.

Uday, known for his love of fierce animals, fast cars and beautiful women, owned several lions, tigers and cheetahs, some of them gifts from friendly foreign governments. Like his father, he disappeared without trace during the US-led invasion.

South African conservationist Lawrence Anthony, who organised the operation, said the patch of grass lined with cages was "cruelly unsuitable" for the lion cubs and cheetahs.

"It’s nothing more than a macho game reserve," he said. "The animals are in a bad way."

US soldiers have secured Baghdad Zoo since it was looted of most animals in the mayhem after Saddam’s rule collapsed. The thieves left the zoo’s lions and tigers alone, but the big cats went unfed for days. US soldiers shot dead four hungry lions when they escaped from their enclosure last weekend.

Mr Anthony said a lioness at one of Uday’s other residences had given birth to cubs, who were in danger of being crushed by male lions in a cage too small for them. "The problem is we don’t have the key," he said. "We’re going to have to go and break the lock."

[MadIvan]

Uday was definitely not "playing with a full deck".

Regards, Ivan

[MadIvan]

Bump!

[CFC__VRWC]

If Uday indeed met his 72 virgins by way of a US bunker buster, that was a much kinder fate than he deserved. Being fed to these cats that he mistreated, or being locked in a room with the surviving family memebers of the women he brutalized, would have been a much more appropriate demise.

[MadIvan]

I'll settle for Uday being dead at this point. He managed to combine all the worst traits of the regime his father ran. Evil, sadism, torture, insanity and tackiness all in one package.

Regards, Ivan

[CFC__VRWC]

Evil, sadism, torture, insanity and tackiness all in one package.

From what I've heard, Uday was actually going to be passed over in favor of the other Saddam spawn (Qusay (sp?)as Saddam's heir, because even Saddam considered him to be too psychotic to rule.

[MadIvan]

Saddam may have wanted to pass Uday over, but Uday had his own powerbase, including the Fedayeen Saddam that would have made such a succession difficult. There was always a chance that if we didn't remove the regime that Uday would inherit the keys to the kingdom. No thank you.

Regards, Ivan

[CFC__VRWC]

While it might have been fascinating, in a morbid way, to see how much blood would have flowed over that succession, I have to agree with what you said earlier. Far better for the world if the whole evil bunch of them are rotting under a pile of rubble.

[Lady In Blue]

I can't begin to tell you how glad that I am that the big cats were fed and rescued.The article doesn't mention about what happened to that beautiful and pathetic looking tiger that was shown on one of our cable shows that other night.I wonder what happened to her/him? Does anybody know? It broke my heart to see it.The announcer said,paraphrasing that(name of tiger)was languishing on it's side and made an attempt to get up,expecting to be fed when it saw the vet come in but laid back down when it saw that the vet didn't have any food? Maybe it was just an oversight in the article but it sure has been bothering me. I wanted to post a vanity post ever since,asking what has happened to Uday's cats,including the tiger.

[Victoria Delsoul]

"The problem is we don't have the key," he said. "We're going to have to go and break the lock."

Duh!

Saddam is most certainly proud of his son.

[WorkingClassFilth]

I do believe George Clooney would be a good choice to play Uday in the TV movie of the 'Fall of Baghdad.' They look similar, they share similar political thought and both are headed for termination - if not already there.

[janetgreen]

I want to know what happened to that tiger too. I absolutely detest people that mistreat animals for their own amusement (or any other reason). My son wants 15 minutes alone with Uday. If my son is granted his wish, Uday will be made into instant mincemeat and fed to the hungry animals.

[Lady In Blue]

It was truly pathetic! And after the tiger laid back down,according to the announcer, it made a low,weak(word?)sound.It nearly broke my heart! Did you see it?

[dsutah]

You know, I can't help wondering what in the world he did to those sons when they were small, to make them that way! As terrible as they were; I'm wondering if he abused them in some way; just like Uday did with those wild animals! Or maybe, they were the classic "Bad seeds".

I could see one of them being like that; but two of them? What could he have subjected them to, to make them become hostile, cruel, dangerous adults? It doesn't seem like the daughters are like that. Unless they(the daughters) were cowed by the dad and brothers. Then too, they(the sons) may have been brainwashed, or conditioned in that kind of behavior from their youth. It's kind of sad, really. What kind of childhood, or family life could create such human 'monsters'?

Maybe it was an insanity gene, or something. Or some other mental condition. Saddam and his first wife, (their mother)were cousins, if I remember right. I guess there is something to be said for outlawing cousin marriage, especially where there are children born! Bad results don't always happen in those sorts of marriages. But with some, there are serious problems in the children.

[janetgreen]

No, I didn't see it. A friend of mine saw it and told me about it. Broke my heart.

[CathyRyan]

Maybe?

.........US troops had been feeding some animals from their rations. But they now have regular meals, thanks to a donation of meat from Kuwait.

Mandor, the Siberian tiger which was owned by Saddam's eldest son Uday, looked plumper and healthier than he did last week, while Sudqa the lioness appeared contented in her cage.

http://www.5tigers.org/news/2003/April/03_4_22c.htm

[Lady In Blue]

THANK YOU CathyRyan! I'm so relieved! I'll check out your link.I bet that's the one.