PAKISTAN: ELEPHANT

Headline

Ailing elephant’s condition worsens in Karachi zoo. 

Intro

Noor Jahan, a sick elephant in Karachi Zoo, is reportedly in a critical condition

Story

STORY: :  Noor Jahan, a sick elephant in Karachi Zoo, is reportedly in a critical condition.
On Friday (April 14), there were widespread reports in the local media, that the condition of the 17-year old elephant had taken a turn for the worse.
Zoo Director Kanwar Ayub told a VNA reporter that Noor Jahan was like a patient in Intensive Care:

“At this moment we are dealing with an ICU (Intensive Care Unit) patient, and I don’t know how long she will continue to be an ICU patient. However,  the condition of an ICU patient can sometimes get better , sometimes worse. This is the situation with this elephant also,” he said.
“ Neither I, nor any doctor in the world can guarantee her survival. However, if the facilities and the treatment that have been prescribed for her are followed properly, recovery is possible.”
A visit to the zoo found the elephant lying on a bank of sand designed for her by an eight-member team of veterinary surgeons from the Austrian animal welfare organization Four Paws that visited the sick elephant earlier this month.

The Vets carried out a medical examination of the sick elephant, lifted her by crane, and performed X-rays and various tests. After three hours of successful medical assistance, the vets said the elephant was experiencing a number of health issues, including arthritis.

The experts also did an ultrasound and found a large hematoma in her abdomen, which is affecting her organs.
Later, Noor Jahan was made to get up and walk on its feet.

After the visit, Vets from Four Paws had expressed hope for the elephant’s recovery.

“ This condition gives us hope that she can recover. But the most important thing at this time is the care she needs to get in the coming weeks. Still, we cannot predict 100 % what the exit of this condition will be. But there is a chance , and this is what is important now: to unite all the efforts and to make this chance higher and higher,”  Four Paws Vet Dr. Marina Ivanova had told reporters.

Noor Jahan was brought to Karachi with three other elephants more than a dozen years ago. Her sister Madhubala is also kept in Karachi zoo.