The fight to keep Karachi's last two African elephants alive: after losing two sisters, all hope rests on Madhubala

The struggle to keep alive the last two African elephants held in captivity in Karachi, Pakistan, has returned to the spotlight. Two of four sisters are already dead, and animal welfare activists and veterinarians remain deeply worried about the health of the survivors, Madhubala and Malika. The case has raised a hard question: are urban zoos and safari parks really equipped to care for animals this large at all?

Noor Jehan, a 17-year-old African elephant at Karachi Zoo, died on April 22, 2023. Volunteer animal caregiver Jude Allen was beside her in her final days, massaging her legs, tending her bedsores and singing to her. Allen, 45, has held various corporate jobs but has volunteered in animal care since an early age.

In Allen's words, that closeness with Noor Jehan changed his life. The day the wild African elephant rested her painful forehead against his and hugged him for the first time, he says, everything made sense. Three years on, he has turned that grief into care for her sister Madhubala, whose own health problems are serious.

The story began in 2009, when four elephant calves captured in Tanzania were brought to Pakistan, allegedly through an animal trader. Noor Jehan and Madhubala were kept at Karachi Zoo, while their sisters Sonia and Malika were taken to the city's larger Safari Park. From then on, the four sisters lived apart in captivity.

In 2020, Pakistan was gripped by the story of Kaavan, an Asian elephant in Islamabad who had spent 35 years in captivity, eight of them alone after his companion Saheli died. With help from the international welfare organisation Four Paws, Kaavan was moved to a sanctuary in Cambodia, where he now lives with other elephants. That episode also turned attention toward the Karachi sisters.

By then Noor Jehan's condition was deteriorating. In 2021 her tusk became infected, and she also suffered from malnutrition and stress. Allen and the other activists could not save her, but the failure gave rise to a wider movement, with Pakistani and international campaigners demanding care and justice for captive animals.

After Noor Jehan's death, Madhubala was left alone at the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation-run zoo. Allen recalls her banging her head against the gate of her enclosure; she needed company, he says — she wanted a friend. Four Paws assessed the elephants, recommended better diets, enrichment and medical treatment, and advised reuniting the sisters.

The reunion finally came in November 2024 at Safari Park. Four Paws documented Sonia approaching Madhubala first, Malika following, the three touching one another with their trunks and drinking together. But the joy did not last. Days later, on December 8, Sonia, aged about 19, collapsed in her enclosure and died.

The park's director initially described an apparent heart failure, but later findings reported by Four Paws identified a severe bacterial infection associated with an advanced abscess on her foot. Four Paws wildlife veterinarian Amir Khalil said at the time that such infections do not spread in one day, linking Sonia's death to prolonged unsuitable living conditions and malnutrition.

Both Madhubala and Malika were diagnosed with tuberculosis, although recent examinations reported by Madhubala's veterinarian indicate she is no longer testing positive. Madhubala, 22, had lost more than 200 kilograms and become too weak to get up safely after lying down. According to Khalil, she has now recovered 85 percent of her ability to walk and is a cooperative patient, following a programme that includes a water massage for her leg with high-pressure water.

The story of how Madhubala came to trust her carers is remarkable in itself. Delays to her relocation had left her frustrated and resistant to crate training, until Allen tried football. Within twenty minutes she was picking the ball up with her trunk, hiding it between her legs and teasing the caretakers trying to retrieve it. Earning her trust, Allen says, was his most significant accomplishment.

Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab says the Metropolitan Corporation has not procured any animals in the last 20 years and the elephants arrived long before his time. Insisting animal welfare should be paramount, he says the corporation is ready to work with anyone willing to help look after Madhubala. Javed Maher, Sindh province's top wildlife official, argues elephants belong in their own habitat; the Safari Park enclosure is about 14 hectares according to Four Paws, and he says he offered hundreds of acres in the countryside so the elephants could live freely.

There is a legal dimension too. In a landmark 2020 judgement, former Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Athar Minallah declared that animals have rights; that ruling enabled Kaavan's transfer to Cambodia and the move of two Himalayan bears to a sanctuary in Jordan, and Islamabad's zoo was closed with all 878 of its animals released or relocated. As no appeal was filed, Minallah says, that judgement remains the law.

Yet the elephants remain at Safari Park. Allen's complaint is that what was meant to be a sanctuary became a zoo, with visitors coming right up to the elephants and feeding them. Whether Madhubala and Malika get a genuinely suitable environment in the long run is now a question for the authorities.