Marius

Marius may refer to:

See also

Marius Pontmercy

Marius Pontmercy (French pronunciation: ​[maʁjys pɔ̃mɛʁsi]) is a fictional character, one of the protagonists of Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel Les Misérables. He is a young student, and the suitor of Cosette. Believing Cosette lost to him, and determined to die, he joins the revolutionary association Friends of the ABC as they take part in the 1832 June Rebellion. Although not a member of the group, the ties of friendship bring him close in. Facing death in the fight, his life is saved by Jean Valjean, and he subsequently weds Cosette, a young woman whom Valjean had raised as his own.

Marius in the novel

Marius and his father

When Marius first appears, he is living with his rich and monarchist grandfather, Monsieur Gillenormand. All his life, he has been told that his father (Georges Pontmercy, a colonel under Bonaparte) abandoned him to Gillenormand. Shortly after Marius turns eighteen, he is sent to see his father, who is ill. He arrives just after his father dies. His father has left Marius a note, instructing him to help Thénardier in any way possible, since the Colonel believes that Thénardier saved his life at the Battle of Waterloo.

Marius (giraffe)

Marius (6 February 2012 – 9 February 2014) was a young male giraffe living at Copenhagen Zoo. Though healthy, he was considered genetically unsuitable for future breeding so it was decided by the zoo authorities to kill him. Despite several offers to adopt Marius, and an online petition to save him, he was put to death on 9 February 2014. His body was then dissected in public and parts were subsequently fed to other animals at the zoo. The event received worldwide media coverage and generated responses from several organisations and individuals, including death threats to staff at the zoo.

Since records began in the early 1900s, five giraffes have been killed for similar "conservation management" reasons. This is out of a captive population in Europe that in 2014 stood at 798 giraffes. Since 2012, two other young giraffe bulls in the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP) have been killed.

Life

The giraffe was born on 6 February 2012 at Copenhagen Zoo where he lived all his life. The zoo has a policy of only giving an official name to a few selected animals such as elephants with the prospect of living up to 50 years or more but the keepers informally named the giraffe "Marius". Shortly after his birth, Copenhagen Zoo informed the coordinator of the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP) for giraffes who, according to the Dutch Zoo Federation, along with his committee tried to find a suitable location for Marius but failed.