![African elephant Noor Jahan, 17, rests on a sand pile, at a zoo in Karachi, on April 14, 2023. — Reuters](https://www.geo.tv/assets/uploads/updates/2023-04-22/483425_1881807_updates.jpg)
KARACHI: Ailing African elephant ‘Noor Jehan’ has lost her life, Karachi Administrator Saif Ur Rehman said Saturday, as efforts to help her went in vain.
“The elephant was sick with a fever since yesterday. All-out efforts were made to save her,” the administrator told Geo News about the animal who was suffering from several health issues for the last several days.
In her last days, Noor Jehan was pin-pricked by drips and regularly doused with water to cool her down.
The administrator mentioned that the foreign vets from the FOUR PAWS International treated the 17-year-old recently as he expressed sorrow over the demise of Noor Jehan.
![Veterinarians examine elephant Noor Jehan at the Karachi Zoo in Karachi on April 18, 2023. — AFP](https://www.geo.tv/assets/uploads/updates/2023-04-22/483425_6388177_updates.jpg)
The zoo’s administration said Noor Jehan was operated upon a few months ago and after the latest one, she faced difficulty in walking.
“A few days ago, Noor Jehan sat down in the pond, but could not get up again,” the administration added.
The 17-year-old African elephant underwent emergency treatment for a tumour in Karachi on April 5, but collapsed days later and had since lain stricken on its side.
The pitiful plight of Noor Jehan is being shared by animal rights activists on social media in Pakistan and abroad, prompting calls for the zoo to be shut down.
Pakistan’s zoos are frequently accused of disregarding animal welfare, and in 2020 a court ordered the only facility in the country’s capital to close because of its decrepit state.
In 2019 Islamabad’s zoo was shut down after drawing international condemnation for its treatment of an Asian elephant named Kaavan.
Kavaan was later airlifted to retirement in Cambodia in a project spearheaded by US popstar and actor Cher, and carried out by Four Paws.