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
Egypt’s grand museum begins live restoration of King Khufu’s ancient boat
- The 4,600-year-old boat was built during the reign of King Khufu, the pharaoh who also commissioned the Great Pyramid of Giza
CAIRO: Egypt began a public live restoration of King Khufu’s ancient solar boat at the newly opened Grand Egyptian Museum on Tuesday, more than 4,000 years after the vessel was first built.
Egyptian conservators used a small crane to carefully lift a fragile, decayed plank into the Solar Boats Museum hall — the first of 1,650 wooden pieces that make up the ceremonial boat of the Old Kingdom pharaoh.
The 4,600-year-old boat was built during the reign of King Khufu, the pharaoh who also commissioned the Great Pyramid of Giza. The vessel was discovered in 1954 in a sealed pit near the pyramids, but its excavation did not begin until 2011 due to the fragile condition of the wood.
“You are witnessing today one of the most important restoration projects in the 21st century,” Egyptian Tourism Minister Sherif Fathy said.
“It is important for the museum, and it is important for humanity and the history and the heritage.”
The restoration will take place in full view of visitors to the Grand Egyptian Museum over the coming four years.
