KARACHI — The Karachi Zoo has once again drawn intense criticism as reports surface of neglect and mistreatment of animals — this time centred on Rano, a female bear suffering from a serious head injury believed to have become infected due to inadequate care.
Animal welfare activists have condemned the zoo’s handling of the case, calling it a violation of Pakistan’s wildlife protection laws and a stark reminder of the chronic mismanagement plaguing the city’s public zoo.
Rano, who has lived alone in a small enclosure since 2017, is said to have sustained the injury by repeatedly hitting the metal bars of her cage — a form of self-harm often associated with stress, trauma, and psychological deprivation in captive animals.
According to one zoo employee, even minor wounds can quickly worsen in such conditions. “The zoo environment is full of pathogens and scavenger birds. Once an animal gets injured, recovery becomes difficult,” the staff member said.
Read More: Sara and Ibrahim Ali Khan Dazzle on Delhi Ramp
Officials from the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) have downplayed the severity of the situation.
KMC spokesperson Daniyal Sial stated that Rano’s injury was “a swelling, not an open wound,” and claimed she would recover within days.
However, animal rights advocates remain sceptical, citing a long pattern of neglect. They note that the zoo has repeatedly failed to meet basic welfare standards, leading to the deaths of multiple animals in recent years, including Rano’s male companion who died in 2020.
Experts also dispute the zoo’s claim that Rano is a Syrian bear, asserting instead that she is a Himalayan brown bear, an endangered species protected under Pakistani law.
Rano’s case echoes the earlier controversy over Kaavan the elephant, whose suffering in Islamabad Zoo sparked international outrage and led to his relocation to a Cambodian sanctuary in 2020.
With rising public pressure and social media campaigns calling for Rano’s transfer to a wildlife sanctuary, activists insist that “no recovery is possible without removing her from captivity.”
For many Pakistanis, Rano’s plight has become a symbol of systemic cruelty and apathy within the nation’s zoo management — a grim reminder that captivity without compassion is nothing short of a cage of pain.