Marjan (lion)
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Marjan was the most famous resident of the rundown Kabul Zoo. He witnessed Afghanistan’s turbulent history, from the 1978 murder of King Zahir Shah’s brother-in-law, Sardar Mohammed Daoud and his entire family, arrival of the communist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan that launched another coup, Great Saur Revolution, USSR invasion, state of warlordism, Taliban’s rise up to the US bombing. Once the western forces moved into the country, devastating conditions in Kabul’s, once well kept, Zoo were revealed. Marjan, the one-eyed lion, became an instant celebrity.
Marjan, which in Pashto means Coral, was born in 1976 and was given as a gift to Kabul in 1978 by the Zoo in Cologne, Germany. He arrived in Kabul and soon afterwards, a lioness by the name of Chucha joined him. During the USSR invasion, the city of Kabul was somewhat spared from the total destruction of the city. However, once the Russians left the country, the civil war that ensued, along with the state of total chaos, enveloped the city of Kabul in the middle of a battlefield. The zoo was shelled on many occasions, even destroying its medical supply facility, leaving zoo personnel helpless and unable to help wounded animals.
In 1993 one Afghan wanting to prove his manliness to the rest of his friends, snuck into the lion’s den. The Taliban stroked Chucha, the lioness, who did not react, but Marjan the lion attacked the man and killed him within minutes. The following day, the man’s brother came and threw a hand grenade into the lion’s den, rendering Marjan blind in one eye (which had to be removed), deaf, and permanently disabled. Despite several surgeries, 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 into his den, as he was seen a few times falling down before making it back into the den.
With the arrival of the US led coalition, the western media quickly picked up the story of Marjan, the one-eyed lion. As the news spread, many animal rights organizations, such as the World Society for the Protection of Animals, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums 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 of 2002. Both private and public funeral ceremonies were held for the lion that was buried in the zoo. His grave has a post in English that says Marjan and in Pashto “He was about 23. He was the most famous lion in the world.”
