- Veterinarians and animal welfare experts from around the world came together on Wednesday to save the life of an elephant in Pakistan. Noor Jehan, a 17-year-old elephant at a zoo in Karachi, had been suffering from a number of health issues, including arthritis, which left her struggling to stand and move around. Videos of her distressing condition had caused alarm in the country.
An eight-member team from the Austrian animal welfare organization Four Paws took on the complex procedure to help Noor Jehan. The team included veterinarians from Egypt, Bulgaria, and an elephant husbandry expert from Germany. They used a crane and a fire truck to carefully lift the elephant and perform an ultrasound, which revealed a large hematoma in her abdomen. This condition was affecting her organs and required immediate attention.
The team worked tirelessly to give Noor Jehan the care she needed, but the procedure was not without its challenges. The elephant almost lost her life during the sedation phase, but the team’s quick thinking and preparations ensured she survived.
Dr Amir Khalil, who led the team, expressed optimism about Noor Jehan’s future. “The good news is that there is treatment for this, but it requires a lot of work and some luck in the coming days,” he said. “However, Noor Jehan is still young, and she deserves to live another 20 or 30 years.”
Noor Jehan was brought to Karachi more than a dozen years ago with three other elephants. The recent videos of her struggling to stand and move around had sparked a public outcry, and this intervention has brought hope to many animal welfare advocates in Pakistan.
The governor of Sindh province, where Karachi is located, was at the zoo for the procedure and praised the efforts of the team. “We are grateful to the team from Four Paws for their dedicated efforts to save Noor Jehan’s life,” he said. “This is a reminder of the importance of animal welfare, and we must do more to ensure that all animals are treated with care and respect.”
This successful intervention is a testament to the importance of international cooperation in animal welfare, and it sends a message of hope to all those working to improve the lives of animals around the world.