In the wake of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, environmentalist and animal conservationist Lawrence Anthony watched CNN's round-the-clock coverage of the destruction of Baghdad from his home in rural South Africa. The carnage he saw on TV made him wonder about the conditions in the Baghdad Zoo.
Anthony was quite familiar with the fate of animals caught in conflict. He'd seen it in Kosovo, Kuwait and Afghanistan, all former war zones in which local zoo populations were forgotten and left to die. He decided he didn't want the same to happen to happen in Iraq, and decided to help rescue the animals of the Baghdad Zoo.
Anthony is coauthor of the book, Babylon's Ark: The Incredible Wartime Rescue of the Baghdad Zoo.
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