A sanctuary for animals in the Arabian desert
When you think of an animal sanctuary, the Arabian desert is probably not the first location that comes to mind. But Ronel Smuts runs such a place in the United Arab Emirates. Times staff writer Jeffrey Fleishman reports:
Life can be tough on the edge of a desert emirate where sand stings and the sun hangs like misery by 9 a.m. Ronel Smuts oversees a menagerie of exotic and endangered animals rescued from smugglers, airports, bazaars, palaces.
Some arrive bone thin, others were abused, like the lioness whose teeth were filed down by a sheik. Two African baboons were found in a car in Dubai; a jaguar was shipped in from Kazakhstan.
When they get here, they 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; she once had 14 cheetahs living in her villa, and she's installed mosquito zappers in the lion's den, which, incidentally, is air-conditioned.
Photo: Gulf News
Ronel Smuts merits plaudits, accolades and commendation for her tireless commitment to rescue and safeguard an array of helpless but priceless creatures in the United Aran Emirates.
Posted by: Brien Comerford | July 06, 2008 at 02:53 PM