Baghdad Zoo Animals Suffer as Mercury Hits 50 Degrees

A pair of Siberian tigers pant incessantly beside a pond at their zoo enclosure in the scorching summer heat of the Iraqi capital. Temperatures on Monday breached 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) in Baghdad for the second day in a row -- making life outdoors unbearable for both humans and animals. The orange, striped felines from far-eastern Russia are more suited to living "where temperatures drop to as low as minus 20 degrees" than in one of the hottest cities in the world, said Wassim Sarih, the veterinarian at Baghdad's only zoo.

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Baghdad zoo animals suffer as mercury hits 50 degrees

Baghdad zoo animals suffer as temperatures breach 50 degrees

Baghdad zoo animals suffer as mercury hits 50 degrees

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Baghdad zoo animals suffer as mercury hits 50 degrees

Baghdad zoo animals suffer as mercury hits 50 degrees