Foreign doctors to visit Noor Jehan, the 'dying' elephant at Karachi Zoo

A team of veterinarians from a Vienna-based animal welfare organization, Four Paws, has scheduled a visit to Pakistan to medically examine and tend to the unwell elephant at a zoo in Karachi, according to Four Paws official statement said on Tuesday.

Animal rights activists say the elephant was "dying" due to the negligence of the zoo administration. 

In November 2021, Four Paws experts said Noor Jehan had a severe tusk infection and required immediate surgery. 

Videos of the elephant named Noor Jehan started surfacing on the internet, showing her swollen joints. The ailment had rendered the animal partially immobile. Social media users caused an uproar against the deliberate ignorance of the animal and demanded provincial minister Nasir Hussain Shah visit the zoo and inquire about its wellbeing. 

Minister LG @SyedNasirHShah visited #Karachi zoo to inspect about Elephant Noor Jehan's condition. According to him she is being taken care of, soon a team of doctors will visit from abroad to check her. He also mentioned that all animals are being provided with the adequate feed pic.twitter.com/AYO2uMKG8N

— Sindh Information Department (@sindhinfodepart) March 27, 2023

Dr Amir Khalil, who works with Four Paws, said that Noor Jehan's condition was "serious" and he was to arrive with his team in Karachi.

“If the elephant is alive by then, we will start the examination and treatment,” Khalil told Arab News.

"[We] will assist in relocation of the elephant from the zoo at a later stage after improvement of the health conditions. But its condition is very serious," he added. 

Ali Hasan Sajid, a spokesperson for the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), stated that KMC’s doctors were tending to Noor Jehan. 

“Animals fall sick like humans do and they are treated. Noor Jehan is also sick and she is being treated,” Sajid said. 

The follow-up came after Kaavan, known as the "world’s loneliest elephant", was released from a zoo in the federal capital. Kaavan was transferred to Cambodia in late 2020.

‘Loneliest elephant' Kaavan leaves Pakistan for Cambodia