Noor Jehan, African elephant, died at the age of 17 in her zoo in Karachi, while the life expectancy of her species is about sixty years. Two years ago, the Islamabad zoo had to close its doors after abusing another pachyderm.
Pakistan's zoos suffer from a chronic lack of budget that compromises the quality of infrastructure and care. In Karachi, some cages are more than 100 years old, and the number of veterinarians is insufficient. For confidential support call the Samaritans in the UK on 08457 90 90 90, visit a local Samaritans branch or click here for details.