Imported Elephant calves suffer as Karachi Zoological Gardens fail to provide proper facilities

Imported Elephant calves suffer as Karachi Zoological Gardens fail to provide proper facilities

It appears as if the apathy and the negligence of the Zoological Departments all over the country have surged to an all-time high, as the poor animals in several of the government enclosures continue to suffer by the hands of ill-equipped and untrained staff.
After the miserable conditions of the two elephants kept at the Islamabad Zoo broke the headlines, this time around it’s the Karachi Zoological Gardens which has taken the lead in manhandling the four elephants imported two years ago. Aged between four and
seven years, the four calves are still waiting for proper enclosures and are kept in small garage like structures with concrete floors. Two of these calves have been retained by the Karachi Zoological Gardens while the other two were moved to the Safari Park
according to the agreement. The two calves have been kept in separate enclosures and both of them were seen constantly hitting the separation wall between them, in a bid to move closer.

The Safari Park authorities have also failed to provide better living conditions for the animals as the work on their new enclosure is still in progress after a lapse of two years.

According to experts, zoo elephants routinely encounter health problems, which are not observed in those living in herds in the wild, even if they are provided shelter, veterinary care and the attention of professional keepers. Mainly from Asiatic origins,
these animals are habitual of thick rainforests and pools of water where they normally take a dip once or twice in a day to cool themselves off and to shed the bacteria and pests on their skin.

“Elephants are like us in many ways; they live long, learn from each other and females make close bonds. Besides, they are highly intelligent and social as they live in matriarchal groups (led by the oldest female),” said Uzma Khan, director biodiversity,
currently working with the World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan in Lahore. “Elephants kept alone tend to be more aggressive, In the Edinburgh zoo, I saw a statue of an elephant with a sign saying that ‘this would be the only elephant you would see at the zoo.
Elephants have complex social and behavioral requirements that the zoo cannot provide for them,’ she added.

Earlier Islamabad Zoo authorities came under scathing criticism from the press when an elephant caretaker who has been working for almost 20 years was fired by the authorities without citing any reasons. It was later ascertained that the directors wanted
to replace the caretaker with their own “personal man” in order to bag all the money he is able to make from the visitors who throng the elephant enclosure. The new caretaker, a layman in handling elephants, failed to move the animals from outside to the warmth
and safety of the enclosed area, leaving the animals to suffer the bitter chill of the nights.

Commenting on nature of elephants, Dr Masoodul Haq Chaudhry, a seasoned wildlife expert, said that it was a well-established fact that elephants needed big space.
“It’s an extremely shy animal and doesn’t breed in captivity. A jungle-type environment, play area, provision of a full-time caretaker and a pond make elephants feel comfortable,” he said.

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Posted by Naveed A Bari on Jan 10 2012. Filed under Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry