Noor Jehan, one of the last four remaining captive African elephants in Pakistan, died Saturday at the Karachi City Zoo after suffering deteriorating health in recent months and falling into a pool of water last week.
“He had a fever and I think that lying on the ground for so many days is dangerous for the elephants. He died around eleven in the morning today, we tried to save his life but we couldn’t,” the director of the zoo told EFE. Karachi, Kunwar Ayub.
The 17-year-old elephant fell ill four months ago and “should have been under treatment long ago,” according to the source, who said a team of vets is studying how to preserve the animal’s body. Noor Jehan fell last April 13 to a pool of water and had to be rescued with the help of a crane.
“She was unable to get up on her own. Despite our efforts and the endless work of the team in the area, we were unable to help her recover. She struggled for days but passed away due to her critical condition,” she said on the Instagram Four social network. Paws International, in charge of treating the elephant.
The animal organization said the “tragic story” is a reminder of the poor conditions captive animals suffer in Pakistan and around the world.
“We hope that the authorities in Pakistan take this as an example and do a better job with their captive wild animals in the future,” Four Paws said.
The organization called for relocating Noor Jehan’s mate Mabhubala “as soon as possible” to “a place suitable for her species to at least give her a place suitable for her species.”
Numerous organizations and activists have demanded that the authorities release the elephants, who live in undignified conditions, often chained and alone.
In November 2020, American singer Cher traveled to Pakistan to free Kaavan, dubbed the “world’s loneliest elephant”, from a zoo in Islamabad where he had been locked up for 35 years and taken to a sanctuary in Cambodia after a long campaign. which drew international attention.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
