Ailing African elephant in Pakistan zoo may be euthanised after collapsing

KARACHI – Animal experts will decide in the coming days whether an ailing elephant at a zoo in Pakistan needs to be euthanised after it collapsed inside its pen last week and has since failed to stand up.

The 17-year-old African elephant underwent emergency treatment for a tumour in Karachi on April 5, but collapsed days later and has since lain stricken on its side.

The pitiful plight of the elephant, Noor Jehan, is being shared by animal rights activists on social media in Pakistan and abroad, prompting calls for the zoo to be shut down.

Pakistan’s zoos are frequently accused of disregarding animal welfare and in 2020, a court ordered the only facility in Islamabad to close because of its decrepit state.

Noor Jehan’s fate now lies with a committee waiting for the arrival of Dr Amir Khalil, the Austria-based chief vet of animal charity Four Paws International.

Dr Khalil, who led the team that treated Noor Jehan for the tumour, said he wanted to have “one last try” at helping the pachyderm recover.

“We will fight till the last for her recovery, and the rest is in the hands of Allah,” said Mr Kanwar Ayub, director of Karachi Zoo.

“We are diligently following Four Paws instructions for Noor Jehan’s treatment.”

Noor Jehan is still eating despite being on her side, pin-pricked by drips and regularly doused with water to cool her down.

“Her condition remains critical and uncertain,” said Four Paws.

Dr Khalil said the focus would likely shift to Noor Jehan’s pen pal, Madhubala, with the hope of finding her better accommodation.

“We will do what we can for Noor Jehan, but really we need to move the other animal,” he said.

In 2019, Islamabad’s zoo was shut down after drawing international condemnation for its treatment of an Asian elephant named Kaavan.

Kavaan was later airlifted to retirement in Cambodia in a project spearheaded by the United States pop star and actor, Cher, and carried out by Four Paws. AFP