Families stroll the park's sidewalks and picnic in the shade as laughing children clamor to see the main attraction _ lions once owned by Saddam Hussein's son, Odai.

Damaged after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, the Baghdad Zoo has made a startling comeback, and thousands of Iraqis are flocking here to escape the city's grungy streets.

The zoo, located in the sprawling Zawra Park in the heart of Baghdad just outside the U.S.-controlled Green Zone, has been held up as an example of American reconstruction efforts. The military brought in new animals, rebuilt damaged exhibits and worked with international zoos and organizations to train the Iraqi zookeepers.

Still, the effects of war are all too plain. Because transporting refrigerated meat is too difficult, donkeys are raised in a fenced-off area. They are euthanized and fed to the lions. And although the zoo is far more serene than other parts of the capital, U.S. military helicopters frequently buzz overhead.

The zoo's revival coincides with a reduction in violence across the capital. As a result, Iraqis are increasingly going outside for their leisure time. And in recent months an average of 8,000 to 10,000 Iraqis visit the zoo each week, paying about 20 cents each for admission, said Adel Salman Mousa, who has been the zoo's director for the past 18 years.

On a recent sunny spring afternoon, Iraqi families packed the zoo. Young couples sat side-by-side on park benches, teenagers rowed small boats in the zoo's pond and families took pictures with their cell phone cameras of the bears and other animals behind green cage bars.

Ahmed Noori, a Baghdad dentist who came here with his wife and 1-year-old daughter, said the zoo is a getaway for Iraqis who live under the constant threat of bombings and shootings.

"The Iraqi people are tired and need more places to relax like the zoo," he said. "This is one of the only well-protected areas that is safe."

That was not the case five years ago. After the 2003 invasion, the zoo was in tatters.

Iraqi fighters had booted the zookeepers from the park and set up defensive positions among the cages. Chaos ensued.

Looters stole or turned loose nearly every animal. Some animals lay dead in their cages, others roamed freely. Three Iraqis were found dead, apparently mauled by a bear. When U.S. soldiers arrived, they were forced to shoot a few lions.

Three months after the Americans captured Baghdad, the damaged zoo officially reopened. But violence soon raged in the capital and elsewhere in Iraq, making it too dangerous for many Iraqis to visit and for organizations to repair it. Continued...