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China to Send 'Animal Aid' for Kabul zoo
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| Afghan
children watch a bear at Kabul Zoo
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BEIJING,
July 12 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - China has agreed to send a
collection of animals, including two lions and a pair of bears, to
Kabul's war-ravaged zoo, it was announced on Friday, July 12.
The
consignment also includes a wolf, two deer, a couple of peacocks and
several other creatures, the state-run China Daily newspaper reported.
Following
the signing of an agreement between the China Wildlife Conservation
Association and the Afghan interim government, the beasts will be sent
as soon as quarantine procedures are completed, probably in early
August, the newspaper said.
According
to the Agence France-Presse (AFP), the animals have been donated by
the Beijing Badaling Safari World "as symbols of friendship and
to bring joy to local people".
It
was announced in March that China had offered to donate the lions, a
pair of three-year-olds called Zhuang Zhuang and Canny, AFP said.
They
will replace the late, lamented Marjon, Kabul's one-eyed lion who died
in January from chronic liver and digestive problems caused by years
of neglect.
The
pitiful state of Marjon, who lost his eye and most of his teeth in a
grenade attack in 1993, came to symbolise the tragedy of war-torn
Afghanistan.
His
replacements and their companions will make most of the lengthy
journey to their new home by rail, travelling by train to Urumqi,
capital of China's westernmost Xinjiang region, which shares a small
border with Afghanistan.
From
there they will fly to Kabul. A Chinese keeper will look after the
animals on the journey, and stay with them in Afghanistan for a month
to help them adjust, the China Daily said.
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