SECURITY at Bahrain's only wildlife park is to be beefed up after complaints that visitors have been attacking the animals.

Among the incidents reported have been children throwing rocks and pulling the hair of the animals, harassing pregnant goats and standing on the backs of tortoises.

One youngster allegedly pulled a quill from a porcupine and used it to chase and stab a goat.

Officials in charge of the Al Areen Wildlife Park and Reserve in Sakhir, say some people, especially children, have been ignoring signs requesting them not to feed the animals or drop litter.

The park has around six security personnel on duty at any time but the management is now planning to increase that to 10 to 15 to ensure the safety of the animals.

Park guiding tourism head Sager Khamis said thousands of people flock to the park every weekend and it was difficult to keep an eye on every visitor.

"Visitors, including adults and children, come to enjoy, spend time with their families and learn more about the wildlife," Mr Khamis told the GDN.

"But teenagers and children aged between four and 10, start running from one corner to the other, shouting, jumping near the lake and throwing things, sometimes food, pebbles, marbles, stones etc.

"They also try to climb the boundary walls and touch the animals, especially goats, turtle, camels and donkeys.

"We have security officers, but the place is huge and there are many visitors not just during weekends, but every day.

"It is not possible for the officers to stand near each and every cage and watch the visitors."

Mr Khamis said people also leave behind food, garbage and plastic bags, which are harmful to the animals.

"It's not safe to leave food items and garbage near the cages and sometimes, in reach of the animals, which they may eat and get sick," he said.

"They sometimes eat the plastic bags, which are dangerous for their health."

The GDN interviewed several people who visit the park regularly. They suggested the park should hire more security staff.

"I have seen children mistreating animals as no staff are there to prevent them," said one Bahraini, who did not want to be named.

"They don't care and think for a second about what they are doing but find it amusing to hurt the animals.

"I have seen people standing on an old tortoise's back, throwing rocks at porcupines, mistreating pregnant goats, sometimes pulling their hair and throwing things at birds."

Pakistani visitor Ambreen Fakhar said she saw a boy pull out a porcupine's quill.

"And when I advised him against doing it, he started abusing me," she said.

"I don't know where his parents were, but when I scolded him and said something in Arabic, he ran to another cage and started sticking the quill into a goat.

"I followed him and when he saw me, he just ran away and went towards the birds' section.

"When I reported the incident to the authorities, they were unable to find the boy."

Ms Fakhar said if the government was willing to spend money on renovating the park, they should spend extra on installing surveillance cameras at every cage to ensure the safety of the animals.

The Public Commission for the Protection of Marine Resources, Environment and Wildlife runs the park and director-general Dr Ismail Madani said officials were seeking practical solutions to the problem.

"Awareness is key to solve this issue and we want people to suggest how we can stop these people from mistreating animals," he said.

"It is very difficult to watch thousands of visitors.

"Our visitors include not only Bahrainis but also foreigners from various parts of the world.

"And if we need to hire more staff, we need extra budget, which is very difficult."

Meanwhile, Dr Al Madani revealed work on major attractions, worth BD300,000, was underway and will be completed within four months.

"The first one is the Arabian Wild Animals Complex, which costs BD200,000 and will feature wolves, hyenas and leopards," he said.

"The other one is the BD100,000 Walk in Birds Aviary, where the visitors will be able to see different species of birds.

"The projects are a venture between government and private sectors."

Mr Al Madani also thanked Batelco, which paid half the cost of the Wild Animals Complex.

The Al Areen Wildlife Park and Reserve was built in 1975 to protect rare Arabian species including the oryx, addax and reem gazelle and today houses hundreds of other animals and bird species.

The park is open daily from 8am to 4pm and on Fridays from 2-5pm.

Entrance fee is BD1 for adults, 500fils for children and free for those aged under three. aneeqa@gdn.com.bh