In the corridors of a taxidermy park in the Jordanian capital, Dr. Iyad Al-Kharisha stands before a group of animals that lived with him for many years, before taxidermy, after their death, turned them into a living memory in the place.
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For him, these animals are not just exhibits that visitors stop to admire, but personal stories, some of which are linked to harsh circumstances, and others to human relationships that he has woven with them over the years.Iyad, the owner of the park, views taxidermy as a message that goes beyond the idea of preserving the animal's body after its death. He says, "Tammemology is an ancient culture that we have revived in this era," explaining that people used to bury their lost loved ones, but he chose a different path, based on his conviction that "everything that is alive is precious."
He acknowledges that the idea may surprise some, but he sees taxidermy as a way to preserve the beauty and memory of animals, and to transform them into a space that allows people to get to know them and contemplate their details after their passing.
The animals undergo a special taxidermy process, supervised by expert specialists, with the aim of preserving the animal’s features and details as much as possible, so that it appears to the visitor close to its natural appearance before its death.
Iyad recalls one of the most difficult periods the park went through during the coronavirus pandemic, when restrictions were imposed on movement and providing feed for the animals became an extremely difficult task.
He says that water was available, but fodder became almost non-existent, and he could not easily leave his home to reach the warehouses from which he used to buy food before the pandemic.
He adds that he tried three times to reach the feed stores after arranging in advance with their owners to open the warehouses, but the security forces stopped him on the way because he did not have a permit that allowed him to move during the period of implementing the orders, so his attempts ended, according to his account, with his detention in Marka prison.
He says that he tried each time to explain the nature of his mission, and that his going out was for the purpose of rescuing the animals and securing food for them, but he was unable to obtain the permit despite having submitted the application electronically beforehand.
The experience was extremely cruel for a man who, he said, had spent 42 years of his life in the United States, working in academia as a physics teacher and in research, before finding himself unable to access animals whose survival he considered a personal responsibility.
Farah was a young pony, and he describes her as a source of joy for the park and its visitors. When she gave birth, the occasion became a celebration for Iyad on his social media accounts, amidst widespread interaction from his followers, but the joy did not last long.
Iyad recounts that Farah, who was between 5 and 7 days old, was attacked by a group of rats that approached the umbilical cord in an attempt to feed on the blood. The mother tried to defend her baby and began kicking with her hind legs, but unintentionally caused his death.
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