Women in conservation: Mother of Lions at Lahore Safari Park

Where women around the world are taking more space within the conservation industry, Pakistan is not far behind

LAHORE:

The wildlife conservation industry is one of many to have remained dominated by men for the longest time. In recent years however, more and more women have started leading charge in the domain, thereby blurring gender lines within the conservation community. From Kenya's all-women anti-poaching unit to Andes women partnering with conservation programs to bring a positive shift in the way Andes mountain communities view Andean cats. Similarly, Pakistan too has been moving towards the inclusion of women in the wildlife conservation field. One such woman leading charge is Dr Madiha Arshraf, a veterinary officer stationed at the Lahore Safari Park, who has, during her service, raised over 10 lion cubs in a bid to save one of the planet’s most vulnerable big cats.

“There are definitely risks involved considering these are wild animals with the tendency to attack even their keepers, but it is part of my job. I still love the cubs I rare like a mother loves her child,” said the wildlife veterinarian.

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Although, she also looks after various other animals and birds at the safari park, Dr Ashraf holds a particular interest in tending to the park’s big cats. Whenever a lioness abandons her cubs shortly after birth, which is often for wild animals kept in captivity, it is up to Ashraf to take the fragile cub under her care and ensure its survival. “We monitor the cub and the lioness for a couple of hours to see if there are any possibilities of the mother taking it back. If not, we separate the newborn from adult lions and lionesses and house it in a separate enclosure. Then it is up to me to monitor the cub’s health, diet and ensure its survival until it is old enough to fend for itself.”

According to Dr Madiha Arshraf, often times, cubs raised on an artificial diet do not make it to adulthood. In the best of circumstances, these animals have a 70 per cent to 80 per cent chance of survival. “I try everything in my capacity to take care of these cubs but the reason a mother abandons her cub is because it is weak, premature or physically disabled. That is the rule of the jungle,” she told The Express Tribune. “I feed these cubs with my own hands and work closely with them for a few months. That is my window of opportunity but I cannot do much after that. I do grow attached to these animals, but I acknowledge that these are wild animals with a natural instinct to attack. There have been several incidents where they have attacked their own keepers, so it’s not a matter of loyalty but instinct. Once their claws grow out, I have to maintain my distance with the very cubs I reared with my own hands.”