Brown bear airlifted from Karachi begins journey to recovery at Islamabad facility
WeirdNews
Rano was relocated in compliance with a court directive, after a welfare petition documented distress, behavioral trauma and injuries linked to her captivity
ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) - On a warm winter afternoon, Rano, the 25-year-old Himalayan brown bear, sat peacefully in her new enclosure as she ate fruit from a bowl near her.
This was Rano’s first day at her temporary sanctuary in Islamabad, where she arrived after living in deplorable conditions for seven years.
Rano was airlifted in a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) aircraft and brought to the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) facility in the capital on Wednesday.
Rano was relocated in compliance with a court directive, after a welfare petition documented distress, behavioral trauma and injuries linked to her captivity in an unsuitable tropical enclosure at the Karachi Zoo.
This is the first phase of her relocation as wildlife officials hope to move Rano to a sanctuary in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region. The environment there more closely resembles her native mountain habitat.
Alina Umair, the rescue operations and feed in-charge at the IWMB, told the media it was standard procedure to keep rescued animals in quarantine for a limited time to ensure they are delivered the best health care.
“Right now, Rano has come from a stress situation and we are making her get used to this environment,” Umair said.
“So that she can get comfortable in our quarantine area.”
The rescue center was set up on court orders in 2020, when the Islamabad Zoo was formally converted into a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation center under the IWMB’s supervision.
The IWMB coordinated Rano’s relocation from Karachi to Islamabad, sending a three-member team to the southern city.
Sana Raja, the in-charge at the rehabilitation facility who led the team that relocated Rano, said the brown bear did not have any “ownership” with the humans at the Karachi Zoo.
“Ownership means that no one has ever called her lovingly,” Raja explained. “Her only interaction with humans was when she was fed and her cage was cleaned.”
Raja said IWMB officials sang in front of the bear while offering food for five hours straight each day in Karachi as they attempted to connect with her and to show Rano that “a person can love as well.”
“Then we flew her. She was monitored continuously in the plane, her oxygen level was checked,” Raja said.
