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On March 27, 1995, a soldier sneaked into the lion's den to show off his bravery to fellow soldiers. The man stroked Chucha, the lioness, who did not react, but Marjan attacked the man and killed him within minutes. The following day, the man's brother threw a hand grenade in Marjan's den in revenge
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and many zoos around the world, lent a helping hand in form of money, medical supplies, as well as personnel that included vets and nurses. Despite overwhelming response, Marjan succumbed to old age and died in
January 2002. Both private and public funeral ceremonies were held for the famous lion
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doctors and an
Italian photojournalist, thus rendering him blind, deaf, and permanently disabled. Despite several operations, neither Marjan's eyesight nor his mouth could be saved. He lost all of his teeth, making it impossible for him to eat boned meat. A ramp was also built for him to get back
81:, the state of total chaos enveloped Kabul Zoo in the middle of a battlefield. The zoo was shelled on many occasions, even destroying its medical supply facility, leaving zoo personnel unable to help Marjan. He is seen as a symbol of survival and a desire for peace by the
114:-led coalition in 2001 and the revealing of the devastating conditions in Kabul's once well-kept Zoo, the western media quickly picked up the story of the lion. As the news spread, Marjan became an instant celebrity and many animal welfare organizations, such as
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He is also the subject of Dwyer Jones' poem, "Lion of
Afghanistan (Apology to Marjan)." In a poem "In Kabul Zoo, The Lion", Jeet Thayil writes about the suffering, resilience and strength from the perspective of Marjan himself.
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The incident sparked outrage with animal rights activists, local and abroad. The man who threw the grenade was violently attacked a week later, and died of injuries.
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of his death, seriously injuring Marjan. His eyes had to be removed by MDM, a PSF (Pharmaciens Sans Frontières) Logistics
Officer who first called for help,
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304:"Libraires envolés, Bangkok-Damas" Anne & Laurent Champs-Massart, éditions La Bibliothèque, 2020
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Marjan's story is told in "Libraires envolés, Bangkok-Damas" by Anne & Laurent Champs-Massart.
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into his den, as he was seen falling a few times while trying to make it back inside.
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In March 2002, China donated a pair of lions to the Kabul Zoo to replace Marjan.
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Here lies Marjan, who was about 23. He was the most famous lion in the world
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26:: مرجان; c. 1976 – January 25, 2002) was the most famous resident of
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that was buried in the zoo. On his grave is posted a sentence in
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in 1976 and was given as a gift to Kabul Zoo in 1978 by the
46:. He arrived in the Afghan capital and, soon afterwards, a
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Famous lion at the Kabul Zoo, Afghanistan (c. 1976 – 2002)
150:" and is the central and eponymous figure in the play
172:. More recently Marjan has also been mentioned in
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213:. March 26, 2002 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
280:"Chinese lions head to Marjan's Kabul home"
229:"Help arrives for Kabul's war-weary lion"
50:by the name of Chucha (چوچه) joined him.
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255:"Afghans saddened by lion's death"
253:George, Marcus (27 January 2002).
227:George, Marcus (13 January 2002).
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336:Individual animals in Afghanistan
120:Association of Zoos and Aquariums
186:features the attack on Marjan.
61:'s turbulent history, from the
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211:"China's lion gift to Kabul"
161:The Great Game: Afghanistan
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77:regime. During the 1990s
110:With the arrival of the
142:Marjan is mentioned in
116:World Animal Protection
180:". A deleted scene in
183:Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
106:Final years and death
168:'s essay collection
164:. Marjan appears in
178:The Taliban Shuffle
73:, and the hardline
30:. Marjan, which in
326:1976 animal births
321:2002 animal deaths
152:The Lion of Kabul
67:Soviet occupation
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341:Individual lions
331:History of Kabul
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59:Afghanistan
44:Cologne Zoo
315:Categories
158:, part of
146:'s novel "
138:In fiction
71:warlordism
57:witnessed
79:civil war
28:Kabul Zoo
259:BBC News
233:BBC News
75:Taliban
48:lioness
32:Persian
290:30 May
264:30 May
238:30 May
176:book "
125:Pashto
118:, the
65:, the
34:means
20:Marjan
197:Notes
36:coral
292:2012
266:2012
240:2012
170:Seek
55:lion
53:The
24:Dari
284:CNN
154:by
96:MSF
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