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American Morning

Marjan the Lion, Symbol of Afghan Survival, Dies of Old Age

Aired January 28, 2002 - 09:53   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, he survived the Soviet occupation. He survived life under the Taliban. He even survived the U.S. bombing campaign, but just this weekend the one-eyed lion, named Marjan, who became a symbol, to some, of survival in the midst of Afghan's -- Afghanistan's despair and ruin, finally succumbed to old age.

CNN's Michael Holmes has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Marjan's life was long-hard, but noble. He survived rocket attacks when the Kabul Zoo was caught in the crossfire of civil war. Then, his jaw was blown off by a grenade, and later he went blind.

After the Taliban fell, Marjan, believed to have been 24, became something of a celebrity, filmed and feted by media and animal welfare workers.

JOHN WALSH, VETERINARIAN: A case of a poor, old lion that everybody really cared about.

HOLMES: John Walsh first came to Kabul to treat Marjan in 1995. He admits to shedding tears when he heard of his death. In the end, it seems old age did what rockets and ill treatment could not.

Today, at Kabul Zoo, locals paid their last respects.

(on camera): In a country accustomed to the deaths of humans, Marjan's passing isn't important in the big picture. But, say his keepers, he was a symbol of this country: old, ailing, wounded, yet proud.

WALSH: It's an old country. It's got all kinds of ailing problems. All of them felt that way, they identified with Marjan.

HOLMES (voice-over): For many here, it's a tragic irony that Marjan survived so much mayhem, only to succumb as the guns fell silent.

Michael Holmes, CNN, at the Kabul Zoo.

(END VIDEOTAPE) COOPER: His time had come.

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