China offers lion for Kabul's war-shattered zoo

Saturday February 2, 2:57 AM AFP

A Chinese wildlife park said it would donate a lion to Afghanistan's Kabul Zoo where Marjan, a one-eyed lion which came to symbolize the war-ravaged nation, died recently, state media reported.

Wang Wei, deputy general manager of the Badaling Wildlife Park, said the death of the big cat last month, widely reported in the Chinese media, had saddened many at the zoo, according to a report by the Xinhua news agency late Friday.

"Others may not understand how sad we are as zoo keepers," he said, "The life of each creature involves a lot of painstaking efforts from its keeper. Besides, Marjan was such a unique lion."

"We wish to express, on behalf of all the Beijingers, the call for world peace through the donation," Wang said, according to Xinhua.

Marjan, a gift from West Germany to the Kabul Zoo 23 years ago, lived his life on the front line of the civil war in Afghanistan.

A grenade attack robbed him of one eye while years of neglect as the country struggled with famine left him with few teeth and an emaciated body.

He died from chronic liver and digestive system failure caused by years of malnutrition, according to a spokesman for the British-based World Society for the Protection of Animals.

Wang said that a report to the municipal government applying for the transfer would be submitted soon, according to Xinhua. There was no indication when the lion, one of 86 at the safari park, would make the move to Afghanistan.