LAHORE: The ceremony to name a baby baboon at the Lahore Zoo on Friday was an absolute joy for schoolchildren as well as other visitors.

It was an exciting morning for the Lahore Grammar School (LGS) children. The three-month-old baboon was named as ‘Mono’ by the schoolchildren.

The baby Mono, an olive baboon of African origin, is 9th and the latest family member in the baboons’ family at the zoo. The joyful event also helped mellow the bitter memories of the tragic death of the only giraffe of the zoo a few days ago.

The cage of baboon’s family was elegantly decorated by the zoo administration with multicolour balloons and colourful buntings. Children with delightful faces, clad in monkey costumes, especially for the occasion, seemed like a little battalion of monkeys marching towards the cage. Holding colourful buntings while making a paper chain with them, they surrounded the cage and the table placed there on which was lying the delicious cake. The cake also had the image of a naughty monkey.

The ceremony, organised by the zoo in collaboration with the LGS, not only stirred curiosity and excitement among the children but also among the general visitors. The cake-cutting ceremony amid singing of short poems focused on the baboon and clapping was the high point of the whole affair.

The zoo officials, Deputy Director Mudassar Hasan and Education Officer Kiran Saleem, told the children about different animals and birds at the zoo, their behavior and interesting habits.

Besides the naming ceremony, the zoo also hosted one-day training in rescue and safety management, in collaboration with Rescue 1122.

The rescuers gave training to the zoo staff and delivered lectures on using fire extinguishers, emergency plan and first aid.

Published in Dawn, April 18th, 2015

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