Assalamualaikum - Sindh begins moving bear Rano to more suitable home
Assalamualaikum - Officials say they have started carrying out the Sindh High Court’s order to relocate Rano, a brown bear at Karachi Zoo, after a petition raised concerns about years of neglect and keeping her in an unsuitable tropical enclosure.
According to Sindh’s chief secretary, Asif Hyder Shah, Rano will be moved to the mountainous Gilgit-Baltistan area so she can be in a habitat closer to her natural home. The petitioners told the court Rano had been confined to the same small space for seven years, showed signs of stress like head injuries and repeatedly banging her head on the cage, and even had maggot-infested wounds.
Chief Secretary Shah chaired a meeting to plan the relocation and asked the Wildlife Department to prepare a proposal for the provincial cabinet to ban the import of exotic, non-native animals. He emphasized that Rano should not be forcibly captured or sedated during the move and that trainers should use gradual, positive reinforcement so she enters the transport cage willingly.
Officials say a specially made iron transport cage meeting safety requirements is ready, and wildlife experts and trainers are doing daily sessions to help Rano get used to people and the crate. There are hopeful signs - she has begun taking honey from a ranger’s hand, which suggests growing trust. The court’s plan is for her to go first to Islamabad and then to a sanctuary in Gilgit-Baltistan.
Shah also reminded everyone that Pakistan is a party to international wildlife agreements like CITES and the Migratory Species Convention, and he called for all zoos and wildlife sites in Sindh to follow ethical care and protection standards that meet both local and international rules.
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