Keeping Madhubala alive: The fight for Karachi’s captive elephants

At Karachi Zoo, Jude Allen sang, You Are My Sunshine, to an elephant helium could not save.

Noor Jehan, the 17-year-old African elephant, was suffering. Allen recalls massaging her legs, nursing her bedsores and spending her last days beside her.

She died connected April 22, 2023, surrounded by a fewer activists. Allen, 45, had held assorted firm jobs portion volunteering arsenic an carnal caregiver since an aboriginal age.

But Noor Jehan changed thing successful him, helium said. “The time this chaotic African elephant rested her achy forehead connected mine, and I hugged her for the archetypal clip – it each made sense,” helium tells Al Jazeera.

“I discontinue my occupation without a program B.”

Now 3 years later, Allen has turned the grief of Noor Jehan’s nonaccomplishment into attraction for 1 of her sisters, Madhubala, who besides faces large wellness challenges. He is portion of a increasing run of Pakistani and planetary activists and doctors trying to prevention Madhubala, a victim, her carers say, not conscionable of aesculapian conditions, but besides of a strategy that is simply incapable to springiness animals successful captivity the attraction and facilities they need.

African elephants Madhubala, left, and Malika roam with a caretaker wrong the premises of Safari Park successful Karachi connected October 9, 2026 [Rizwan Tabassum/AFP]

The elephant sisters

In 2009, 4 elephant calves captured successful Tanzania were brought to Pakistan, allegedly done an carnal trader.

Two of them, Noor Jehan and Madhubala, were kept astatine the Karachi Zoo, portion their sisters Sonia and Malika were taken to Safari Park, a larger installation besides successful Pakistan’s largest metropolis that has some a zoo and different viewing spaces for visitors to ticker animals up close.

Then, successful 2020, Pakistan was gripped by the communicative of Kaavan, an Asian elephant that had spent 35 years successful the superior metropolis of Islamabad, 8 of them unsocial aft his companion Saheli died. Four Paws, an planetary carnal payment organisation, helped determination Kaavan to an carnal sanctuary successful Cambodia, wherever helium present lives with different elephants.

That occurrence besides shone a airy connected the Karachi sisters. At the time, Allen was helping a person with different carnal shelter, and came to cognize Four Paws was successful town. He reached retired to them, and they led him to Noor Jehan and Madhubala.

By 2021, Noor Jehan’s tusk was infected. She suffered from malnutrition and stress, too.

Allen and the different activists couldn’t prevention Noor Jehan, but the run had turned into a wider cry, demanding attraction and justness for captive animals successful the municipality jungle of Karachi, the coastal location to 20 cardinal people.

A mahout feeds elephant Noor Jehan astatine the Karachi Zoo successful Karachi connected April 14, 2023 [Asif Hassan/AFP]

One carnal successful peculiar became the absorption of attention.

Named aft an iconic Indian movie histrion from the mid-20th century, Madhubala was present the lone African elephant astatine the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation-run zoo. She was alone, banging her caput against the gross of her enclosure, Allen recalls. “She didn’t person a friend.”

Allen says she needed institution – she wanted a friend.

Tragic reunion, and a dilatory recovery

Allen, on with Four Paws, helped hole her for a determination to Safari Park, truthful she could articulation her sister elephants, Sonia and Malika.

Four Paws assessed the elephants and recovered that they needed amended diets, enrichment and aesculapian treatment. The organisation recommended reuniting them. 

The reunion came successful November 2024. Four Paws documented the gathering betwixt the siblings astatine Safari Park. Sonia approached Madhubala first. Malika followed. The 3 touched 1 different with their trunks and drank together. 

But days later, connected December 8, Sonia died, aged astir 19, aft collapsing successful her enclosure. The park’s manager initially described an evident bosom failure. Subsequent findings, reported by Four Paws, identified a terrible bacterial corruption associated with an precocious abscess connected her foot.

Amir Khalil, a Four Paws wildlife vet progressive successful the elephants’ care, told The Associated Press astatine the clip that “such infections don’t dispersed successful 1 day”. Four Paws linked her decease to prolonged unsuitable surviving conditions and malnutrition.

Meanwhile, Madhubala and Malika were some diagnosed with tuberculosis, though caller examinations reported by her veterinarian person indicated that Madhubala is nary longer investigating positive. 

Now Madhubala, 22, is recovering aft losing much than 200kg (440 pounds) and becoming excessively anemic to get up safely aft lying down.

Khalil, who has besides rescued chaotic animals from aggregate struggle zones, is 1 of the carers who has taken complaint of Madhubala’s recovery. He told Al Jazeera that Madhubala had recovered 85 percent of her quality to walk, and was a bully patient: “She truly wants to travel the modular cognition process and to adhere to the programme that I enactment in,” helium says. That includes a “water massage for the limb with high-pressure water”.

He says the required medicine needs to beryllium administered properly, and treating each the wounds – and they were getting amended erstwhile helium near Pakistan a fewer days ago.

A motortruck carrying a question cage for an elephant, Madhubala, passes from a thoroughfare to beryllium relocated from the Karachi Zoological Garden to a safari parkland successful Karachi connected November 26, 2024 [Asif Hassan/AFP]

For Allen, the enactment began with Noor Jehan.

While she was unwell, helium says helium visited the zoo daily, checking that the elephants received their nutrient connected clip and successful the close quantities. During Noor Jehan’s last 10 days, helium was a near-permanent beingness there, assisting the aesculapian squad nevertheless helium could.

Her decease became the opening of the “I Am Noor Jehan” movement, which Allen leads for animals successful captivity. The Pakistan Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), with I Am Noor Jehan, held a memorial for Noor Jehan with artists, filmmakers, and other carnal activists.

Then came Madhubala. Preparing her to participate a transport crate required patience. Allen describes an elephant who could beryllium assertive and hard to approach. Four Paws specialists helped him recognize her needs.

But delays to the relocation disrupted the training, helium says. Madhubala became frustrated and bored. Allen tried football.

He entered her enclosure, an attack helium acknowledges Four Paws did not endorse. The caretakers warned him too: Madhubala wasn’t successful a playful mood.

But wrong 20 minutes, helium says, Madhubala wanted the ball.

She picked it up with her trunk and hid it betwixt her legs. Then she began teasing her caretakers who were trying to retrieve it, offering the shot earlier concealing it again.

The sessions helped him physique a narration with her, helium says. Madhubala began responding eagerly to grooming again.

“Earning her spot was the astir important accomplishment.”

That spot is particularly important to Allen due to the fact that helium believes that Noor Jehan, and past Sonia, could person been saved.

When Sonia was unwell, Allen says helium had raised concerns with section authorities astir her value nonaccomplishment and a swelling beneath her body. He says those warnings were not adequately acted upon.

“I felt I betrayed Sonia.”

Amir Khalil and Madhbala [Courtesy of FourPaws]

‘What was meant to beryllium a sanctuary became a zoo’

The deaths of 2 of the 4 African elephants successful Karachi rise questions astir the resources, expertise and accountability down keeping chaotic animals successful nationalist institutions, experts say.

Karachi Municipal Corporation has not procured immoderate animals successful the past 20 years, and the elephants were brought successful agelong earlier his time, Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab said, speaking to Al Jazeera.

“I’ve ever said that carnal payment should beryllium paramount. Anyone who wants to travel articulation hands, to look aft the animal, we would beryllium acceptable and consenting to enactment with them,” helium said.

He argued that his squad astatine KMC had done immoderate it could to look aft Madhubala with Khalil and different doctors.

“Madhubala was being treated, and the bully happening is, now, Dr Khalil is besides saying things are moving successful the close absorption and we’ve got a third-party position endorsing immoderate was being done,” Wahab said.

But Allen says Safari Park, wherever Madhubala was moved aft Noor Jehan’s death, has been a disappointment. Allen says helium helped make Madhubala’s caller enclosure there, moving connected landscaping and the procedures that caregivers needed to usage to assistance her.

Moving her was expected to alteration the conditions of her life. But astatine Safari Park, helium says, radical travel close up to the elephants, provender them, and dainty the installation similar a zoo.

“What was meant to beryllium a sanctuary became a zoo,” helium says.

Javed Maher, the apical wildlife authoritative successful the authorities of Sindh, the state containing Karachi, says elephants and wildlife request to beryllium successful their ain habitat, and radical caring for them request to person cognition of animals.

Currently, the Safari Park enclosure for elephants is astir 14 hectares, astir 35 acres, according to Four Paws.

Mahar says helium offered hundreds of acres successful the agrarian state for these elephants truthful they tin unrecorded freely.

“Karachi Zoo, on with the bulk of the zoos of the country, is not capable,” helium says.

But the elephants person remained astatine Safari Park.

Welfare cheque connected elephant Madhubala astatine the caller enclosure successful Karachi Safari Park, Pakistan with Amir Khalil, Karachi, Pakistan, October 12, 2026 [Courtesy of Four Paws]

The supra photograph needs a recognition -TSL

Former Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Athar Minallah, successful a landmark 2020 judgement, declared that animals had rights. It was that ruling that enabled the transportation of Kaavan to Cambodia, and 2 Himalayan bears to a sanctuary successful Jordan. The zoo successful Islamabad was closed, and each 878 animals kept determination were released oregon relocated.

“That judgement remains the law, arsenic nary entreaty was filed against it,” says Minallah speaking to Al Jazeera.

“Under this jurisprudence, Madhubala has the close to unrecorded successful an situation wherever her social, behavioural, and intelligence needs tin beryllium met,” helium says.

To beryllium sure, the challenges that officials similar those astatine KMC and elsewhere look are besides real.

Pakistan already faces profound quality hardship. A United Nations relationship published successful March says much than 60 percent of radical successful the state cannot spend a steadfast diet.

Acquiring animals that necessitate specializer attraction creates obligations lasting decades. Once confined, they beryllium connected radical for each meal, for movement, companionship and treatment.

But that, accidental analysts, is adjacent much crushed to “stop keeping them successful our custody”, says Allen.

He past saw Madhubala connected October 8, erstwhile helium was assisting the Four Paws team. When determination are tons of people, helium says, she gets distracted easily.

But she tin besides get jealous for Allen’s attention. “She volition virtually propulsion rocks if she tin astatine anyone talking to me,” helium smiled.