SINGAPORE: To the strains of upbeat jazz and with a vegetable cake laid on as a special treat, Canola the Singaporean manatee celebrated her third birthday in style Wednesday.
The nearly 300-kilogram (660-pound) manatee swam around in a large aquarium as a three-piece jazz band played at a party attended by dozens of schoolchildren.
Divers swam in carrying a two-meter (6.5-feet) high “cake” made of sweet potato leaves and carrot and topped off with a “C” fashioned from cabbage, as the guests sang happy birthday.
The festivities were joined by the other 12 manatees in Canola’s herd, who jostled for bites of the cake in the aquarium.
Canola is the mascot for the River Safari, a wildlife park in Singapore. She was born there but was raised by River Safari staff after being abandoned by her mother.
To emulate the fatty milk produced by nursing manatees, her carers added canola oil to the formula they fed her — which gave the sea cow her name.
The manatee is a marine mammal that has flippers, a flat tail and an egg-shaped head. It is classified as “vulnerable” by protection group the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
With veggie cake and jazz, manatee celebrates birthday in style
With veggie cake and jazz, manatee celebrates birthday in style
Policewoman honored for soothing crying baby when her mother fell unconscious at Beirut airport
- ISF honors first adjutant for comforting and feeding baby-milk to scared infant whose mother was rushed to hospital
- Social media users praise policewoman for her ‘humane and empathetic’ act after photos went viral
BEIRUT: A Lebanese policewoman who comforted an infant and fed her milk while her mother was hospitalized after falling unconscious at Beirut airport was honored for what social media users dubbed a ‘humane and empathetic’ act.
First Adjutant Nadia Nasser was on duty when the unidentified baby’s mother suffered a sudden illness and fell unconscious at a checkpoint inside Beirut International Airport earlier this month.
Photos of Nasser holding the months-old baby in her arms, preparing a milk bottle and feeding her went viral across social media, where users described the policewomen’s act as ‘motherly, compassionate and humane’ behavior.
Brig. Gen. Moussa Karnib of Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces honored Nasser on Friday for caring for the infant for almost two hours at the airport after her mother was rushed to a hospital.
A media statement said the first adjutant was honored upon the directives of ISF’s Director General Maj. Gen. Raed Abdullah, after she took personal initiative on Feb. 2 to comfort the infant.
Commenting on Nasser’s photos that went viral, a user called Sami said she should be promoted for her ‘selfless and empathetic’ act.
Another user, Joe, commented: “She should be rewarded.
“This is how loyalty and love for one’s job and country are built,” wrote a user called Youssef.
Media reports said that when the incident happened, the baby’s fear and cries prompted Nasser to take the initiative to comfort and remain beside her until her mother’s condition stabilized.
ISF’s statement did not clarify whether Nasser and the baby accompanied the mother in the ambulance or how they were reunited later.
