Daily Times

Madhubala is no ordinary elephant. Potentially fatal infections and years of abuse made all the more insufferable by solitary existence in a barren, lifeless enclosure, the 18-year-old Tanzanian elephant battles for survival with vacant eyes and sheer distress. Five months after she lost her sister and longtime companion, Noor Jehan, in one of the most painful ways, she prefers to spend her days by her grave in a heart-wrenching manner. In an ideal world, animals and their habitats should never be prodded, poked around or dismantled in the name of development. However, capitalist greed and the sprawling human population are determined not to leave a single inch of this divine planet unharmed and therefore, humans wish to steal these majestic animals away from their homes in small, unkempt areas without any proper care or socialisation for the sake of “entertainment.”

That the rescue of the world’s loneliest elephant Kaavan from “a dangerous place for animals” to a sanctuary in Cambodia had earned Pakistan the ire of animal activists and humanitarian organisations for the poor conditions of its zoos and shambolic infrastructure is a moot point for the authorities concerned. After Noor Jehan’s painful death, animal welfare organisations took up the banner for the African pachyderm Madhubala’s immediate relocation to the nearby Safari Park so that she may enjoy a relatively greener, calmer and populated setting for “a better chance at life.” But international pressure and a much-touted resolve to actually care for these animals are apparently not enough for the Karachi Metro-politan Corporation to grease the bureaucratic engine.

Amid cost-cutting concerns, KMC holds its ground, reiterating the requirements of a seemingly “uphill” task. Meanwhile, doubts about the relocation actually helping alleviate the wildlife crisis remain. In the past. there have been repeated complaints about the non-fulfilment of basic needs. Neither the diet nor veterinary care provided to captive animals in Karachi used to be at par with international standards.

Madhubala and, by extension, all animals living in zoos across the country are in desperate need of attention from the authorities. Years of captivity have rendered their release into the wild a non-option. We have to turn our zoos into sanctuaries. *