Foreign veterinarians said they performed a critical procedure to save a sick elephant at a zoo in Karachi zoo on Wednesday.
Noor Jehan has been suffering from neurological deficiencies for the past few months, which has severely affected her hind legs.
An eight-member team from the Austrian animal welfare organization Four Paws did the complex procedure with the help of a crane and a fire truck. The team included veterinarians from Egypt, Bulgaria and an elephant husbandry expert from Germany.
Dr. Amir Khalil, who led the global animal welfare group, said: “We nearly lost her when we gave her sedation, but luckily we had all the necessary preparations, and Noor Jehan stood up again.”
On Spril 5, the wildlife experts did an ultrasound and found a large hematoma in her abdomen, which is affecting her organs.
“The good news is that there is a treatment for this, but it requires a lot of work and some luck in the coming days,” Khalil said. “However, Noor Jehan is still young, and she deserves to live another 20 or 30 years.”
Dr Khalil emphasized the need for joint efforts to save Noor Jehan’s life. “Right now, Noor Jehan is alive. What happened in the past isn’t important. But, what’s important now is to focus on giving her the best chance for life,” he said.
“We will move her to a bigger area where she can move around freely. This is what Noor Jehan needs.”
KMC agrees to move two ailing elephants from Karachi Zoo to Safari Park
The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) has finally agreed to relocate two elephants, Noor e Jehan and Madhubala, from the Karachi Zoological Gardens to the sprawling Safari Park within a month.
The decision comes after an international animal welfare group, Four Paws, engaged in efforts to save Noor Jehan’s life at the zoo.
The KMC extended full support to Four Paws on Tuesday and offered to arrange any logistics needed for the medical procedures.
“We are with Four Paws. All departments are ready to arrange any logistics needed for medical procedures. We are also making preparations to shift both zoo elephants to Safari Park within a month per experts’ recommendation,” Karachi Administrator DrSaif-ur-Rehman said while speaking to journalists at the zoo following his interaction with experts.
KMC approached Four Paws to diagnose her illness and suggest appropriate treatment. “The kind of treatment Noor Jehan requires isn’t available in Pakistan. So, we approached the international group to help us diagnose her illness and suggest and offer treatment, if possible,” he said.
The team of Four Paws recommended over a year ago that zoo elephants should be shifted to Safari Park, which also houses two more elephants, due to its reduced noise pollution and a better species-specific environment. Experts stated that the latter facility is more appropriate for the species that should live in a herd, according to their natural habitat.
“We will move her to a bigger area where she can move around freely. This is what Noor Jehan needs” said Dr Khalil.
Noor Jehan and Madhubala
The Four Paws team is on its fourth visit to the Karachi Zoo and is preparing to perform the medical procedures needed to save Noor Jehan’s life.
Both Noor Jehan and Madhubala, along with two other elephants, were caught and separated from their mothers at a very young age in Tanzania in 2010 and brought to Karachi under a controversial agreement.