TRIPOLI, April 11 --  It was supposed to be a temporary closure for renovations, but for 17 long years, Tripoli's zoo - like the city itself - was embroiled in the violence of Libya's brutal conflict.

Only now, during a spell of tenuous calm, has the zoo managed to reemerge from a bloody past, reopening its doors last month to offer rare relief in a city that still bears the scars of years of fighting.

On the first day of Eid al-Fitr in March, hundreds of families queued to enter the facility, despite the pouring rain.

Decked out in their best new Eid clothes, children stared wide-eyed at the bears, lions, Bengal tigers and white oryxes with their long, slender horns.

Several local species were also on display, including fennec f...