The Sindh High Court (SHC) court on Friday ordered a committee formed by the Sindh chief minister to visit the Karachi Zoo on November 2 and prepare a report on the condition of the animals there, including Rano, the brown bear.

The case of Rano, a female Himalayan brown bear who stirred public outcry over her ailing health in the zoo, has brought into sharp focus the neglect of animals kept in captivity in Karachi. She will be relocated to a bear rehabilitation centre under the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board, before being moved to Gilgit-Baltistan on the SHC’s directives.

In a previous order dated October 17 — available with Dawn.com — SHC Justice Iqbal Kalhoro ordered the committee to visit the Karachi Zoo in the company of petitioner Jude Allen Pereira, Dr Nazeer Hussain Kalhoro from the Sindh Institute of Animal Health, Advocate Jibran Nasir and wildlife photographer Zafeer Ahmed Shaikh and prepare a detailed report highlighting the “number of animals, their physical and mental condition and the circumstances under which they have been kept”.

According to a copy of today’s order posted on X by Nasir, the judge observed that the October 17 order had not been complied with and no visits to the zoo had been scheduled by the committee. It also noted that the cage had not been placed in Rano’s enclosure and that letters from Nasir to the committee had gone unanswered.

“With the consent of learned AAG, we fix [November 2] as a date for visit by the committee constituted in terms of order dated [October 10] to visit the own bear and other animals to ascertain their physical and mental health, especially of brown bear for the shifting of which to Islamabad this petition has been filed. Matter is already fixed on [November 6] and be taken the same date,” the order reads.

Nasir filed an application earlier today for an urgent hearing on the petition, arguing that no action has been taken regarding Rano’s relocation by the authorities.

“On October 17, government officials had asked for two weeks’ time for the transfer,” Nasir contended. “Despite writing a letter to the committee members on October 22, no member has responded yet.”

The lawyer added that Rano’s cage has not been prepared for her transfer, noting that it would take some time for her to acclimate to it once it’s ready.

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“A team from Islamabad has examined Rano. The team has confirmed the presence of insects in three wounds on Rano’s body,” Nasir emphasised. “We want as many animals as possible to be inspected in daylight.”

Languishing in a barren cage, Rano, a Himalayan brown bear, was reportedly brought to Karachi Zoo in 2017 along with an Asiatic black bear who died in 2020.

Earlier this month, the bear was undergoing treatment for a head injury, with a zoo official saying that she had been treated earlier for the same wound, which she probably suffered after hitting the metal bars of her cage.

In January, the KMC, on the mayor’s directives, had notified a three-member committee to assess Rano’s condition, in a bid to address concerns regarding her well-being.

The committee, in its report, recommended that “the species may immediately be transferred to the bear sanctuary at Balkasar“ — the only bear-specific sanctuary in Pakistan — and suggested that Rano’s DNA testing be carried out to identify its exact species.

While the committee expressed satisfaction over the bear’s diet, physical health, and finding no wounds/injuries on her body, it observed “unusual behaviour” of the brown bear, suggesting she was “under stress”.

The team also noticed “heavy noise” during the visit, and said it seemed to be “beyond the permissible decibels”.

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.