Dhaka Zoo throws birthday party for lioness Shanti

Mushir Ahmed Dhaka Zoo cut an eight-pound (3.6 kilogram) cake and threw a small party Monday to celebrate the 23rd birthday of Shanti, long-term zoo resident and the park's most famous lioness. Local lawmaker Ilias Uddin Molla cut the cake on behalf of Shanti -- meaning peace -- who was born into captivity at the zoo and has spent all her life at the park, the head of the state-owned zoo AHM Shahidullah said. "Shaniti can't eat cake. But she was treated to camel's milk and given cow's liver as a special diet -- her two favourite foods," he said, adding the Member of Parliament had fed the lion personally. "Shanti can't eat cake, so the lawmaker distributed it among zoo's primates including chimpanzees, monkeys, baboons and bears," he added. This is the first time the zoo had celebrated the birthday of one of its famous inhabitants and the authorities invited scores of people including the long-term caregivers of Shanti to commemorate the occasion. "Shanti is now old and can't even eat properly. But over her long and fruitful life, she has entertained some 40 million visitors at the Dhaka Zoo. And true to her name, she has always been calm," he said. Lawmaker Ilias Uddin Mollah said he joined the celebration to pay trubute to a well-known resident of his constituency. "Normally, a lioness can't live more than 17 years in captivity. But Shanti is still among us. I came here to give her our love and say thank you for the service. We joined a prayer seeking blessing and good health for her," he said. Dhaka Zoo, a 753,000-square-metre (186-acre) park in the Bangladeshi capital, is home to some 1,600 animals, including some of the rare and endangered species that are no longer found in the wild. Officials said the birthday celebration was part of the efforts by the authorities to raise awareness about old animals at the park. The Dhaka Zoo is home to 37 such animals who are counting their last days. "They have served us so long. Yet, we forget them as soon as they die," said Zakirul Farid, cheif veterinary surgeon at the zoo. Last year it declared three-day mourning for Pabantara, a 100-year-old elephant and a "loyal servant" of the zoo, after its death plunged her fans into grief. The female Asian elephant had lived at the zoo since it was founded in 1957 and had carried hundreds of thousands of children and adults on fun rides -- a key activity at the zoological garden. Still, critics said the birthday-bash is aimed at dispelling criticism after a string of embarrassing revelations about animal maltreatment, which they say are to blame for high number of deaths at the park. In 2009, 21 animals, including a Bengal Tiger, a lion, a giraffe, a zebra and a tapir, died at the zoo, triggering the suspension of two senior keepers.