B'day of Lankan elephants celebrated in Korea

Last Friday marked the eighth birthday of the two baby elephants that Sri Lanka had donated to the city of Seoul two years ago. Sri Lanka's goodwill gift to Korea came after the Seoul Metropolitan Government sent an official letter asking for young elephants, because the three elephants at the Seoul Grand Park Zoo were getting old.

To celebrate the two pachyderms' birthdays, the Sri Lankan Embassy in Seoul threw a party at the zoo last Friday.

The event attracted lots of child visitors, and the Sri Lankan Ambassador to Korea delivered an early Children's Day message.

Sri Lanka's Ambassador to Korea Tissa Wijeratne said, "In the presence of a large number of children who will celebrate their children's day tomorrow, it's a very important day. So I thought I'd give a message to the children. The message is to show kindness and love towards animals."And what birthday would be complete without presents!

The two young elephants ran from afar and trampled on the boxes, which mostly contained their favourite foods.But no birthday cake for these two elephants. They were perfectly content with hay and watermelons.

With the opening of the gifts, the two baby elephants had a chance to express their emotions and play with the contents, which is important for their health.

Their great appetite and playful behaviour amused the children who hadn't had a chance to see elephants that close before.The people wished for the health and well-being of the baby elephants, dear to the hearts of both Koreans and Sri Lankans. (Arirang)