KARACHI: Rano, a female bear forced to live in solitary confinement at the Karachi Zoo, is currently under treatment for a head injury, it emerged on Saturday.

Sources said that the wound is old and seems to have now been infested by maggots due to a lack of care.

“Treating an animal with an injury is tough at the zoo as this place is home to large colonies of pathogens as well as hordes of opportunistic bird species, especially crows, which don’t let the animal heal and feast on their wounds, too,” shared a zoo official.

He added that Rano had been treated earlier for the same injury that she probably suffered after hitting the metal bars of her cage.

When contacted, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation spokesperson Daniyal Sial admitted that the bear is under treatment.

“She will recover in a few days. But, it’s not a wound but a swelling on her head that she had developed after hitting herself on the cage’s iron bars,” he said.

Female Himalayan bear’s old wound infested by maggots due to lack of care, sources say

It might be recalled that Rano was reportedly brought to the Karachi Zoo in 2017 along with an Asiatic black bear who died in 2020.

No plan for relocation

According to sources, the KMC hasn’t yet implemented any of the recommendations of its own committee, which had suggested Rano’s DNA testing and her relocation to a sanctuary in Punjab over nine months ago. The committee couldn’t hold any follow-up meeting either.

The committee was set up on the mayor’s directives on Jan 15 this year to address animal rights activists’ concerns about Rano, which had been kept in poor conditions at the zoo for almost nine years.

Animal rights activists say that Rano is a Himalayan brown bear — a critically endangered species — and not a Syrian species as claimed by zoo officials.

Sources said the committee, after carrying out a comprehensive examination of Rano, suggested its DNA testing (to confirm the subspecies) and her relocation to a bear sanctuary in Punjab.

The members in their report had expressed concern over Rano’s “unusual behaviour”, suggesting she is “under stress.”

“The species may immediately be transferred to the bear sanctuary at Balkasar till confirmation of the species/subspecies through DNA sequencing. Any two members nominated/advised by the senior director will visit the bear sanctuary to check the facility,” the report stated.

Asked about Rano’s relocation, the KMC spokesperson said that no such move is under consideration right now.

Published in Dawn, October 5th, 2025