Rescued animals placed in desert sanctuary
The Christian Science Monitor has a brief article on an animal sanctuary in the middle of the Arabian desert.
Life can be tough on the edge of a desert emirate where Mr. Smuts oversees a menagerie of exotic and endangered animals rescued from smugglers, airports, bazaars, and palaces. Two African baboons were found in a car in Dubai; a jaguar was shipped in from Kazakhstan.
When they get here, the animals meet a South African divorcee with a tin feeding bowl and an ornery side who jokes – one assumes it’s a joke – that she’ll throw her crew, eight Arab men in khaki shirts and matching caps, into the crocodile pond if floors aren’t swept and cages aren’t repaired. Smuts has a soft heart for animals and a tart tongue for most everyone else. “The animals come first here, so I guess I’m not the easiest boss,” she said.
