Elephant Noor Jehan unable to stand after fall at Karachi Zoo, remains critical
- 15 Apr 2023
The condition of Noor Jehan, the 17-year-old African elephant at Pakistan’s Karachi Zoo, remains critical, with the elephant unable to stand on Friday, a day after falling in a pond in its small enclosure.
Right after the fall Four Paws, a global animal welfare organisation, recommended lifting Noor Jehan with a crane, ropes and belts. The animal was unable to stand and was placed on a mudded area in the enclosure.
She has since been lying visibly weak with limited motion on a mound of sand, propped up against the only tree inside the enclosure.
"Her condition is very critical at the moment. We are trying everything to save her," Four Paws spokeswoman Katharina Braun said by email. "It is very important that she gets up as soon as possible, laying too long on the ground ... can be life threatening."
Noor Jehan is suffering from a huge hematoma, or pool of clotted blood, inside her abdomen in addition to intestinal issues, Four Paws member Dr Amir Khalil said during his visit to treat her last week. The veterinarian from Egypt had then given Noor Jehan a strong chance of survival.
Khalid Hashmi was removed as director of Karachi Zoo on April 8 over complaints of negligence.
His successor, Kanwar Ayub, said he was unsure if the complaints were true in the week following the vet's visit. "However, there has been no negligence in the three days I have been appointed, guaranteed," he said on Friday, noting possible negligence over time.
In 2020, American singer Cher arrived in Pakistan to send off Kaavan, an elephant in Islamabad Zoo she had spent years trying to free, before his move to a Cambodian sanctuary.
Animal rights advocates had campaigned for the 36-year-old Asian elephant to be rescued from grim conditions.
Reuters