A 10-year-old Georgian boy who sneaked out from his parents house and travelled some 130km (80 miles) on a train on his own to see the animals in Tblisi zoo - only to find it was closed - has been gifted a year’s pass to the attraction.
Dato Nozadze had hoped to get his first glimpse of the wild animals but “was left disappointed when he found the zoo had closed for the day,” local Georgian media reported.
A police patrol “later noticed him wandering alone on a street, contacted his parents, and returned him to his home in the central Georgian town of Khashuri,” says the BBC.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But the next day the Tbilisi Zoological Park decided to honour his “special love of animals,” according to a post on the zoo’s Facebook page.
The following day, the same police officers “returned to Dato's house to bring him back to the zoo to see the animals and receive his pass,” the Netgazeti website reported.
Dato “was given a personal tour of the zoo by its director Zura Gurielidze, and got to feed the lemurs, elephants, camels and alpacas,” Liberali magazine website said.
According to the BBC, many on Georgian social media found the story touching. "A real adventure for the little boy. He is a little dreamer," said one user on Facebook.
-
5 sleeper hit cartoons about Sleepy DonCartoon Artists take on cabinet meetings, a sleepy agenda, and more
-
Political cartoons for December 6Cartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include a pardon for Hernandez, word of the year, and more
-
Pakistan: Trump’s ‘favourite field marshal’ takes chargeIn the Spotlight Asim Munir’s control over all three branches of Pakistan’s military gives him ‘sweeping powers’ – and almost unlimited freedom to use them
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro behind bars after appeals run outSpeed Read He will serve 27 years in prison
-
Americans traveling abroad face renewed criticism in the Trump eraThe Explainer Some of Trump’s behavior has Americans being questioned
-
Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
A private zoo run by Asia's richest family is facing criticism and investigationsUnder the radar The zoo is owned by Anant Ambani, the son of Asia's richest person
