Foreign doctors were able to look at the sick “Noor Jehan”

In a good sign, a group of foreign doctors were able to check out “Noor Jehan,” a 17-year-old African elephant in bad health at the Karachi Zoo, on Wednesday.

Four Paws, a global animal care group, has sent a team of vets and wildlife experts to the port city to treat the 17-year-old African elephant.

The South Asian country is in the middle of one of its worst economic disasters, with problems like high external debts, historically high inflation, and slow growth.

Not only has this chaos hurt people, but it has also hurt animals. When people heard that Noor Jehan wasn’t getting the care she needed, there was a big fuss on social media. Then, the foreign organization sent a team to the city.

In a statement released after the test, the organization said that, as planned, the team used ropes carried by a crane to fix and stabilize Noor Jehan with the help of zookeepers.

Once she was in the right place, the experts began to put her to sleep so they could do the planned evaluation. But as soon as the medicine started to take effect, Noor Jehan was too weak to stand on her own, even with the help of the crane.

Four Paws doctors check on Noor Jehan, an African elephant who is 17 years old and lives at the Karachi Zoo.
Doctors from Four Paws check on Noor Jehan, a 17-year-old African elephant at the Karachi Zoo. — Four Paws
The vets quickly gave the prepared antidotes to reverse the effects of the sedative. The team was able to calm her down by talking to her and standing next to her while the expert vets did their work. This meant that the test could still go on.

The thermal infrared camera was used first. Luckily, it didn’t find any broken bones. However, the results of the ultrasound showed what was wrong with her.

“With a broken pelvic diaphragm, we could find an inner abscess. These results made it clear that she must have been hurt in some way, which explains both her painful health state and her strange body position.

The statement said that the hematoma squeezes the urethra and makes it hard to urinate, which affects how well the kidneys work.

Also, her bowels have a lot of gas because she has been immobile for a long time. The organization said that because of her strange body position, the ligaments in her back legs have shrunk and the muscles have wasted away.

Four Paws said that to treat her, she needs to move around a lot to wake up and train her muscles again. This will also help her stomach move better.

African elephant Noor Jehan, who is 17 years old, at the Karachi Zoo. — Four Paws
“Noor Jehan,” a 17-year-old African elephant at the Karachi Zoo. Four Pups
The amount of gas in the gut also needs to be cut down with a special diet. Also, tests in the lab and histology have been done, and open cuts have been treated. The team used drugs, vitamins, pain relievers, and water treatment.

“Tomorrow, the team will make special recommendations, such as medical care and enrichment for the cage, that will help ease the pain and speed up the healing process.”