Zoo-keepers in a private wildlife park in Beijing are now worried about the animals that they donated to the Kabul Zoo two years ago.

Wang Wei, deputy general manager of the Badaling Wildlife Park, said the park was concerned about the animals' living condition, after a bear and a dear it donated to Afghanistan died.

Sources with the Chinese Embassy in Afghan said Saturday that the bear, named Shenshen, died of renal failure, which was owed to the poor conditions in the zoo.

Wang heard that the male bear's death has driven his mate Cece crazy.

Another donated dear died because of improper feeding by tourists.

Wang and his colleagues decided to donate two lions and some other animals to Kabul Zoo after learning from TV that Marjan, the one-eyed lion in Kabul Zoo, died in 2002, when peace finally came back to the war-torn country of Afghanistan.

The donation included a pair of lions, Zhuangzhuang and his mate Canny, both three years old, a pair of lions, a male wolf chosen as a companion for a lonely female wolf in Kabul, a pair of brown bears, a pair of deer and a pair of white pigs.

The Kabul Zoo remains one of the few sites for fun and joy in the war-torn country, drawing thousands of visitors everyday.

Wang said his park had planned to help Kabul Zoo cope with its food shortage problems and make continued donations of new animals. "But only after we could make sure of the safety of living for the donated animals, shall we continue to send animals to Afghanistan," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency August 8, 2005)