Web Desk
Sri Lanka has pledged to donate two female elephants to Pakistan as a gesture of goodwill in the aftermath of the demise of Noor Jehan, an African elephant in Karachi Zoo last week.
According to media reports, Honorary Consul General Yasin Joyia while confirming the development has said that the Consul General’s office has formally submitted a request to the Sri Lankan High Commissioner in Islamabad, seeking the provision of these two mammoth creatures.
However, it is pertinent to note that the Sri Lankan high court has previously issued a ban on the export of elephants to other countries.
The Honorary Consul General said that Sri Lanka will be sending two female elephants to Pakistan — one for the Karachi Zoo and another for Lahore.
Joyia added that there is no elephant in Lahore’s zoo after the death of Suzi, who passed away in May 2017 and was the only large mammal there.
Noor Jehan, the 17 years old female elephant had died at Karachi zoo on Saturday.
Noor Jehan was brought to Karachi with three other elephants more than 10 years ago. She died after an accident just days after the procedure performed by a team of experts based in Austria to assess her condition.
Videos of Noor Jehan leaning her head against a tree and struggling to stand caused alarm in Pakistan and around the world.
An eight-member team from the Austrian animal welfare organization Four Paws was brought in and performed a complex procedure to assess several medical issues the elephant was facing. The procedure was done with the help of a crane and a fire truck.
The team included veterinarians from Egypt and Bulgaria and an elephant husbandry expert from Germany. It was headed by Dr. Amir Khalil of Egypt.
Just three years ago, a Sri Lanka born elephant , Kaavan was released from Islamabad zoo and sent to Cambodian sanctury.
Kaavan, dubbed the “world’s loneliest elephant” remained languishing alone in Islamabad zoo for 35 years.
The animal had been alone since the death of his partner Saheli in 2012.
Kaavan was diagnosed as being dangerously overweight, owing to his unsuitable diet of around 250 kilograms (550 pounds) of sugar cane each day.
Kaavan was gifted by Sri Lankan government in 1985 to then military ruler, General Zia ul Haq.
