OTUMFUO'S GIFT OF CAMELS TO KUMASI ZOO (SHOWBIZ, PAGE 6, DEC 3)

By George Ernest Asare

Four Arabian camels which joined the animal collection of the Kumasi Zoo a couple of months ago, have started winning the hearts of local and foreign tourists as they troop into the zoo regularly to catch a glimpse of the new arrivals.
Buses full of pupils from basic and second cycle schools in the Kumasi Metropolis and its environs and saloon cars that carry family members and friends, arrive at the Zoo on a daily basis, and their first point of call is always the enclosure that accommodates the four mammals which were flown across the Sahara Desert in a special chartered plane.
According to Oheneba Asampong Boakye, who handed them over to the management of the Zoo on behalf of the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the camels were a special gift presented by the Libyan Leader, Col. Muamar Ghadaffi to Otumfuo.
A ceremony to formally welcome the camels was performed by the Board of the Zoo last week at which the media were briefed on how the camels had improved attendance to the Zoo.
According to the manager of the Zoo, Mr Emmanuel Darkwa Nimo, since the animals arrived on April 25 last year, there has been an upsurge in the number of tourists. The Zoo attracted over 130,000 tourists and generated an income of about GH¢40,400.
Camels which are well domesticated are herbivorous animals that can travel for about 48 kilometres a day. Also considered as Ships of the Desert, camels can travel as fast as horses and can endure harsh desert conditions. They can go without food and water for many days and can also carry heavy loads of up to about 90 kilograms.
Wool, milk and leather can be produced from them and their dung can be used for fuel when the need arises.
In his briefing, Mr Nimo said when the animals arrived in April, Otumfuo brought them to the Zoo for safe keeping but decided to donate them as his contribution to enhancing the attraction of the Zoo.
He said other animals that had added value to the tourists attraction of the Kumasi Zoo are the lions, pythons, chimpanzees and hyenas among others.
On the challenges that face his management, he mentioned poor drainage as one of the major headaches at the Zoo and appealed to the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly to help improve the drainage system to make the place more attractive.
He also expressed concern about inadequate funding, making it difficult for the management to meet its expenses and appealed to philanthropists, individuals, institutions and corporate bodies to support them in that endeavour.
Some board members who graced the occasion during the formal handing over of the camels to the management of the Zoo were Professor Owusu Addo, Board Chairman, Nana Dr Effah Guakro, Vice Chairman, Mr I.K. Boateng, retired educationist, Nana Dwomo Sarpong of the Friends of Rivers and Water Bodies and Mr Edward Asare, a businessman.