World

Elephant in Pakistan zoo dies, reviving concern over animal treatment

2023.04.22 21:41


© Reuters. African elephant Noor Jahan, 17, who is 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 illness revived criticisms of the nation’s zoos, died on Saturday despite frantic efforts to treat her, officials said.

The critically ill 17-year-old elephant had fallen into a pond this month and been unable to get up without help.

“After fighting for 9 days, she succumbed to her critical condition. She spent too long lying on the ground – a life-threatening situation for elephants,” Four Paws, an international animal welfare organisation that had been advising local and international veterinarians on her treatment, said in a statement.

Four Paws veterinarian Amir Khalil said it was “heartbreaking that she had to die at only 17 years old, when she could have had many more years”. Noor Jehan was an African elephant, whose average lifespan is 60 to 70 years.

In recent years two lions died of asphyxiation in Pakistan after handlers tried to get them out of their den using smoke, and a number of white tiger cubs have died.

The director of the Karachi Zoo was removed this month over complaints of negligence. A court in 2020 ordered the closure of the Islamabad Zoo, where the elephant Kaavan was kept.

The American celebrity Cher, after years of seeking to free Kaavan, came to Pakistan to see him off on his move to a Cambodian sanctuary.

Khalil said Karachi Zoo did not meet international standards and urged that Madhubala, the healthy elephant remaining at the zoo, be relocated to a more species-appropriate place to give her a chance at a better life.

Four Paws said Madhubala was mourning the loss of her longtime companion.

The widespread criticism faced by authorities in the wake of Noor Jehan’s condition – with images of her helplessly lying on her side – has led to reports in the local media that Karachi Zoo may be shut down permanently.

Four Paws said it welcomed this proposal, adding that it could be a turning point for the welfare of wild animals in captivity in Pakistan.

Source link

Related Articles

Back to top button
bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) $ 68,817.44 0.25%
ethereum
Ethereum (ETH) $ 2,437.22 0.87%
tether
Tether (USDT) $ 1.00 0.05%
bnb
BNB (BNB) $ 559.86 0.16%
solana
Solana (SOL) $ 161.91 0.32%
usd-coin
USDC (USDC) $ 1.00 0.00%
xrp
XRP (XRP) $ 0.514268 1.98%
dogecoin
Dogecoin (DOGE) $ 0.168334 11.60%
staked-ether
Lido Staked Ether (STETH) $ 2,436.38 0.90%
tron
TRON (TRX) $ 0.162269 1.63%
cardano
Cardano (ADA) $ 0.330772 0.00%
the-open-network
Toncoin (TON) $ 4.60 5.07%
shiba-inu
Shiba Inu (SHIB) $ 0.000018 4.87%
wrapped-steth
Wrapped stETH (WSTETH) $ 2,870.61 1.55%
wrapped-bitcoin
Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) $ 68,642.39 0.12%
avalanche-2
Avalanche (AVAX) $ 23.16 1.45%
weth
WETH (WETH) $ 2,436.55 0.90%
bitcoin-cash
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) $ 338.14 1.30%
chainlink
Chainlink (LINK) $ 10.49 1.41%
leo-token
LEO Token (LEO) $ 6.07 0.50%
usds
USDS (USDS) $ 0.992955 0.78%
polkadot
Polkadot (DOT) $ 3.82 1.33%
sui
Sui (SUI) $ 1.92 2.67%
litecoin
Litecoin (LTC) $ 66.98 0.90%
near
NEAR Protocol (NEAR) $ 3.69 1.77%
wrapped-eeth
Wrapped eETH (WEETH) $ 2,552.87 1.26%
aptos
Aptos (APT) $ 8.19 0.75%
uniswap
Uniswap (UNI) $ 6.93 0.49%
pepe
Pepe (PEPE) $ 0.000008 0.45%
internet-computer
Internet Computer (ICP) $ 7.13 0.49%
dai
Dai (DAI) $ 0.999737 0.04%
bittensor
Bittensor (TAO) $ 427.96 0.17%
fetch-ai
Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET) $ 1.15 1.99%
monero
Monero (XMR) $ 159.59 1.23%
ethena-usde
Ethena USDe (USDE) $ 1.00 0.10%
stellar
Stellar (XLM) $ 0.092232 1.57%
whitebit
WhiteBIT Coin (WBT) $ 18.94 0.26%
ethereum-classic
Ethereum Classic (ETC) $ 17.93 1.37%
kaspa
Kaspa (KAS) $ 0.105965 3.02%
first-digital-usd
First Digital USD (FDUSD) $ 0.999836 0.37%
polygon-ecosystem-token
POL (ex-MATIC) (POL) $ 0.297317 0.73%
blockstack
Stacks (STX) $ 1.51 3.85%
okb
OKB (OKB) $ 37.44 0.28%
dogwifcoin
dogwifhat (WIF) $ 2.04 0.91%
filecoin
Filecoin (FIL) $ 3.34 0.07%
aave
Aave (AAVE) $ 130.61 0.51%
crypto-com-chain
Cronos (CRO) $ 0.071627 0.49%
arbitrum
Arbitrum (ARB) $ 0.480762 0.03%
mantle
Mantle (MNT) $ 0.556333 0.42%
immutable-x
Immutable (IMX) $ 1.08 0.81%