Sinha Regiment's 'Cougar' Celebrates Its First Birthday with Cake-Cutting

The beloved mascot of the Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment (SLSR), ‘Cougar’ at Ambepussa SLSR Headquarters turned one year old on Friday (April 6) and its birthday was marked with a difference, amid a gathering of SLSR Officers and Other Rankers, led by SLSR Centre Commandant, Brigadier Ajith Pallewela.

After a fresh bath on its first birthday, he was first treated to its routine breakfast and was afterwards taken to a small hut in the premises before all ranks assembled there with an artificially-designed cake of about two feet in height, stuffed with pieces of meat, instead of icing sugar and wheat flour.

After the arrival of the SLSR Centre Commandant, everyone joined the typical birthday cake-cutting with rounds of applause. Symbolizing the occasion, the Centre Commandant at first cut the birthday cake and fed the lion cub with a piece of meat to mark its anniversary.

Department of Wildlife Conservation, giving due recognition to the SLSR's practice of rearing a lion cub as the SLSR mascot gifted this baby mammal as the 3rd mascot of the SLSR during a brief ceremony at the Zoological Gardens in Dehiwala several months ago in the presence of Mrs Sumedha G. Jayasena, Deputy Minister of Sustainable Development and Wildlife who joined the occasion as the Chief Guest.

‘Cougar’, belonging to a rare African species had been born in Hambantota jungles and left unattended before it was rescued and housed at Dehiwala Zoological gardens for its biological growth.

Major General Piyal Wickramaratne, Colonel of the Regiment, SLSR has given instructions to mark the event.

As the life-span of the second mascot already living at Ambepussa is fast coming to an end with its more than 15 years of full maturity and growth, the Zoological garden has given its permission to adopt this lion cub to the SLSR Headquarters under the supervision of veterinary experts and wildlife specialists.