 | | A zoo keeper strokes Marjan, a 50 years-old African male lion, sitting in his cage in Kabul's destroyed zoo November 15, 2001. Marjan has lived in the zoo for the last 47 years and a few years ago he killed a man who entered his cage, the brother of the killed man, to revenge Marjan, lobed a hand grenade in the cage, the lion survived the blast but lost both his eyes. |
A wild cat which limps, a blind lion, a bear with a bloody nose and an aged eagle: life is as tough for the animals in Kabul zoo as it is for the people of this war-ravaged Afghan capital.
Mardjon the lion is the only big cat in this zoo in the middle of the city. No longer young, he lounged in the drought-hit garden of his small enclosure. "Seven years ago he was hit by a grenade which exploded right in front of his head. The shrapnel pierced his eyes. Since then he has been blind," said zookeeper Sher Aqa Omar.Mardjon's breakfast on Sunday was 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of camel meat, the cheapest lion food on the market. "I have enough for two days. After that I will have to find more," said Omar. Enclosed near Mardjon is a collared bear with a bloody snout. One of the rare visitors to the zoo injured the animal with a stick. "The veterinary surgeon is not able to cure it, but is trying to ensure that at least it does not get any worse," the zookeeper said. A number of bears were killed, the birds of prey escaped and the sole Indian elephant owned by the zoo died. "When the fighting was at its worst, the owner of the zoo locked Mardjon up in a basement each night and fed him directly in his mouth," Sher Aqa said. Only 17 species of animal remain in Kabul's zoo, the inter-fighting from 1992 to 1996 followed by the five-year rule of the Taliban movement having taken its toll on the animals. That the zoo has been in the front line of the warfare is evidenced by the bullet-riddled walls and the state of the small animal museum in the middle of the park, which was bombed and then destroyed by fire. Omar added that many of the animals had been psychologically disturbed by the fighting in the city and, more recently, by the US bombing campaign. "Two weeks ago, those two did not want to leave their little hideaway at the bottom of their cage," Sher Aqa said, pointing to two monkeys. "I hope that the future government will unblock funds that will allow this place to regain its previous state," he added. A visit to the zoo is, however, a better bet than an outing to the city's other main attraction, the cultural museum, which has been bombed, mined, and finally plundered. (Agencies) | 跛腳野貓，瞎眼獅子，年邁的老鷹和一只受了傷的熊，這就是喀布爾動物園里的真實情景。在這個飽受戰爭蹂躪的國家的首都動物園里，珍稀動物和阿富汗的人們一樣，過著"牛馬"不如的生活。 一只名為Mardjion的獅子是這個位于喀布爾市中心的動物園里唯一的大型貓科動物。已經上了年紀的Mardjion懶懶地躺在它那狹小而燥熱的籠子里。 動物管理員Sher Aqa Omar說："七年前，一顆手榴彈正巧在Mardjion的腦袋前爆炸，碎片深深地刺入Mardjion的眼睛，從此它就成了一只瞎眼的獅子。" Mardjion只有在每個星期日才能吃到肉。今天是星期日，Mardjion的早餐是10公斤的駱駝肉，這是市場上最便宜的獅糧了，即使如此，管理員Omar說："我們的食物只夠Mardjion再吃兩天了，兩天后我們必須去尋找其它的食物。" 關在Mardjion旁邊的籠子里是一只鼻子受傷，鮮血淋淋的熊，據說這只脖子上套著鎖鏈的熊是被僅有的幾個參觀者中的一個用棍棒給弄傷的。 管理員說："我們的獸醫沒有條件治愈這只受傷的熊，但他已經盡力讓這只熊的病情不再而惡化。" 動物園里其余的熊都被殺了，食肉鳥兒飛走了，園子里唯一的印度象也死了。Omar說："在戰爭最激烈的時候，動物園的老板每晚把Mardjion鎖在地下室，親自喂它食物才救下了這只獅子的性命。" 1992年至1996年的阿富汗內戰和接下來的塔利班運動奪取了大部分動物的生命，如今喀布爾動物園中僅存17種動物。從動物園里滿是槍眼的圍墻和被轟炸焚燒的小型動物展覽館的殘垣可以清晰的看出喀布爾動物園曾是戰爭的前沿陣地。 據Omar說，由于城里的激戰和近來美國對這個城市的轟炸，這些幸存下來的動物大多也已經心理失常了。Omar指著兩只猴子說："兩周前，我把它們倆放出籠子的時候，它們居然都不愿意出來。" "我希望未來的政府能撥出一些款項，讓我們的動物園恢復從前的生氣。" 然而，這樣一個幾乎被廢棄的動物園比起喀布爾市內的其它景觀，還算是一個比較安寧，能看到一絲生命跡象的地方。像喀布爾文化博物館，就曾被空襲、被炸毀，最后還被洗劫一空。 (中國日報網站譯) |
Updated: 2001-12-03 01:00
