Father of Lions
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3 months free
Father of Lions
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Narrated by:
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Saul Reichlin
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By:
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Louise Callaghan
About this listen
Between 2014 and 2017, the 'Islamic State' ruled the city of Mosul, in northern Iraq, killing 'traitors', destroying books and oppressing women. But miraculously, in a park on the eastern edge of the Tigris, a zoo was kept open.
Father of Lions is the story of Mosul Zoo. It survived under the stern hand of Abu Laith, the zookeeper, a man with an interesting past and a lifelong animal lover. His real name was Imad, but for as long as he could remember everyone had called him by his nickname, Abu Laith - 'Father of Lions'. And the lions and bears survived not only two years of Isis occupation but starvation and bombardment by liberating forces.
As the animals began to starve, Abu Laith and his family and helpers went hungry to keep them alive. They risked their lives to pick through bins for leftovers in Isis-occupied neighbourhoods. In a final heroic effort, the surviving animals were smuggled out of Iraq in a daring rescue operation.
This is a story of human decency in the midst of barbarism.
©2019 Louise Callaghan (P)2019 Head of ZeusListeners also enjoyed...
An unexpected treasure
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The insights into the daily lives of ordinary people when the Islamic State ruled are profound and unsettling. How they coped with the extreme changes forced upon them and managed to survive and carry on despite the fear, horror and bombs all around them. Amongst all this is the story of how Abu Laith, helped by locals, saved as many of the animals in the local zoo as he could, and eventually helped the remaining animals escape to better living conditions.
The narration is excellent, and there is a section at the end about the author’s interviews etc. The character’s names were unfamiliar to me, so I did get a little confused as to who was who, but this didn’t detract from the power of the story. Having finished listening to the story I then googled pictures of Mosul, Abu Laith and the zoo; I wish I had done this earlier.
5*s for this remarkable true story of survival, and of people who are willing to risk all to help.
Life in occupied Mosul
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