© Reuters. African elephant Noor Jahan, 17, who’s unwell, rests on a sand pile, at a zoo in Karachi, Pakistan April 14, 2023. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro
KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) – Noor Jehan, an elephant in Pakistan’s Karachi Zoo whose sickness revived criticisms of the nation’s zoos, died on Saturday regardless of frantic efforts to deal with her, officers mentioned.
The critically unwell 17-year-old elephant had fallen right into a pond this month and been unable to stand up with out assist.
“After combating for 9 days, she succumbed to her vital situation. She spent too lengthy mendacity on the bottom – a life-threatening state of affairs for elephants,” 4 Paws, a world animal welfare organisation that had been advising native and worldwide veterinarians on her therapy, mentioned in an announcement.
4 Paws veterinarian Amir Khalil mentioned it was “heartbreaking that she needed to die at solely 17 years previous, when she might have had many extra years”. Noor Jehan was an African elephant, whose common lifespan is 60 to 70 years.
Lately two lions died of asphyxiation in Pakistan after handlers tried to get them out of their den utilizing smoke, and plenty of white tiger cubs have died.
The director of the Karachi Zoo was eliminated this month over complaints of negligence. A courtroom in 2020 ordered the closure of the Islamabad Zoo, the place the elephant Kaavan was stored.
The American celeb Cher, after years of searching for to free Kaavan, got here to Pakistan to see him off on his transfer to a Cambodian sanctuary.
Khalil mentioned Karachi Zoo didn’t meet worldwide requirements and urged that Madhubala, the wholesome elephant remaining on the zoo, be relocated to a extra species-appropriate place to offer her an opportunity at a greater life.
4 Paws mentioned Madhubala was mourning the lack of her longtime companion.
The widespread criticism confronted by authorities within the wake of Noor Jehan’s situation – with pictures of her helplessly mendacity on her aspect – has led to studies within the native media that Karachi Zoo could also be shut down completely.
4 Paws mentioned it welcomed this proposal, including that it may very well be a turning level for the welfare of untamed animals in captivity in Pakistan.
