Hope for elephant Noor Jehan nonetheless alive as KMC permits overseas vets to go to Karachi Zoo

Noor Jehan, a 17-year-old African elephant dwelling in a barren enclosure on the Karachi Zoo, has been struggling for the previous few weeks. And with each passing day, her well being is deteriorating.

Extreme swelling on her joints has left her partially motionless and her genitals have change into concerningly enlarged. As a result of immense ache, she will barely transfer now and is dragging herself.

Whereas the zoo stays oblivious to her situation and has to this point failed to offer any reduction, a glimmer of hope was seen on Friday when the Karachi Metropolitan Company (KMC), which runs the zoo, allowed 4 Paws — a world animal rights group — to go to the metropolis and deal with the elephant.

4 Paws has already been helping the zoo administration over the cellphone with Noor Jehan’s remedy. Final yr, a crew from the organisation visited Karachi and inspected all 4 elephants within the metropolis — two on the Safari Park and two on the zoo.

Throughout their go to, the vets had, amongst a number of different observations, concluded that Karachi Zoo elephants had been dwelling with noise air pollution and their enclosures lacked a pure habitat. Subsequently, it had steered that the zoo elephants be moved to the Safari Park.

In a letter dated March 24, a duplicate of which is offered with Daybreak.com, the KMC inspired 4 Paws’ curiosity in treating Noor Jehan.

“The well being situation of an elephant [Noor Jehan] isn’t good, therefore, the administration of Karachi Zoo, KMC, seeks your well timed assist,” it mentioned.

The letter additional said the administration of the Safari Park had been directed to make vital housing preparations for Madhubala and Noor Jehan — the elephants on the zoo. “These elephants could presumably be shifted to Safari Park underneath your steerage and experience,” it added.

KMC’s letter comes after 4 Paws despatched a request to the administration to hold out a bodily checkup of the elephants.

“Our lawyer Owais Awan is involved with the respective individuals at KMC and we had been promised to obtain an official letter and invitation from KMC,” Marina Ivanova, senior challenge supervisor at 4 Paws, had instructed Daybreak.com earlier.

“With out their written affirmation we are able to’t organise a go to to the zoo as we’d like entry to the elephant on the zoo to have the ability to assess her present well being standing and desires,” she had added.

Ivanova had additionally promised that the crew would “do our greatest to rearrange all the things vital for the crew to go to Karachi zoo”.

Reacting to as we speak’s growth, Pakistan Animal Welfare Society (Paws) head Mahera Omar instructed Daybreak.com that she anticipated the 4 Paws crew to reach in Karachi quickly.

She additionally hoped that the elephants on the zoo would quickly be reunited with their pals on the Karachi Safari Park.

“The journey of rehabilitation of the 4 wild-caught elephants within the metropolis can lastly start. It has been a very long time coming,” Omar added.

In the meantime, Prime Minister’s Strategic Reforms head Salman Sufi — who has been following Noor Jehan’s case carefully — mentioned {that a} Punjab wildlife crew had additionally been despatched to the zoo.

“It should conduct checks of Noor Jehan and begin new medicine accordingly,” he instructed Daybreak.com.

Sufi additionally mentioned that the Centre had suggested the Karachi directors to facilitate the go to of 4 Paws. “They’ve assured it. We’ll hold following up,” he added,