Female elephant dies at Murgahazar Zoo

The only zoo of the federal capital, Murgahazar Zoo, faced a major blow on Tuesday when its most valued female elephant ‘Saheli’ expired, apparently due to the carelessness of the Capital Development Authority’s (CDA) staff. However, exact cause of its death will be ascertained after the postmortem report of the animal.
The female elephant of the zoo was found dead on early morning of Sunday in its enclosure. All the Marghzar Zoo officers reached the elephant’s enclosure and the zoo’s veterinary officer examined the animal and declared that the animal had expired.
Sources in the CDA, seeking anonymity, told Pakistan Today that the female elephant was suffering from an injury in one of its legs but this may not be considered as a reason behind its death. A CDA official confided that it was also feared that the animal had been poisoned as it was not for the first time when it received an injury. “It was not such a serious injury that anyone can term it a cause of its death; it is something else behind its death,” said the source. Another official said that the male elephant of the zoo has also become dangerous for the staffers and even for the visitors of the zoo as it often tried to free itself from the chains.
CDA Chairman Farkhand Iqbal has ordered an inquiry into the incident, headed by Administration Member Shoukat Ali Mohmand. He has also suspended two officials of the zoo, Bilal and Faiz Mohammad, who were deputed to look after the animal. The elephant was donated by Bangladeshi Prime Minister Begum Khalida Zia in 1992. Thousands of people, including Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and his two sisters, Asifa and Bakhtawar, had had a ride on it when they were kids.