New lions for Kabul

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 2002:

BEIJING–The Badaling Wildlife Park, of Beijing, announced
on March 19 that in May it will donate two handreared lions, Zhuang
Zhuang and Canny, to the Kabul Zoo, to replace Marjan, the
one-eyed lion who died on January 26, and his mate, killed in the
1993 grenade attack that injured Marjan. Abdul Basir Hotak, Afghan
interim government charge d-affaires in Beijing, accepted the gift
in person.
The Badaling Wildlife Park, with 84 lions at present, was
formerly notorious for feeding live calves to lions to thrill
visitors. Chinese President Jiang Zemin banned the practice in
August 1999, at request of French activist Brigitte Bardot, but
live feeding is believed to continue at some other Chinese wildlife
parks.