Adieu Rano

The female bear named Rano from Karachi Zoo was relocated to Islamabad aboard a Pakistan Air Force C-130 aircraft on Wednesday.

According to Sindh Wildlife Department sources, the animal was transported from the zoo to an operational PAF base at around 7am on Wednesday. Prior to the transfer, a special committee formulated on the orders of the Sindh High Court reviewed Rano's training, responsiveness, and overall physical and mental health.

Committee member and filmmaker Mahera Omar, along with representatives of the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board and Karachi Zoo, documented the relocation process. The C-130 aircraft took off for Islamabad at 8:30am and landed safely at Noor Khan Air Base.

Officials said that during the flight, members of the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board - including Abbas and Anis Sana — as well as Karachi Zoo veterinarian Dr Amir, livestock specialists Dr Shehla Hayat and Dr Zulfikar Haider, Deputy Conservator Wildlife Karachi Mumtaz Ali Soomro, and Mahera Omar continuously monitored Rano through the windows of the transfer crate.

Despite the noise of the aircraft engines, Rano remained calmly asleep throughout the journey, and the flight proceeded without any complications, the sources added.

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday directed the Karachi Zoo administration to hand over Rano, a female bear kept in poor conditions at the zoo, to the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) within two days.

A two-member bench headed by Justice Muhammad Iqbal Kalhoro heard a petition regarding the inadequate care and facilities for the animal. During the proceedings, the Secretary of Wildlife Department and the Senior Director of Karachi Zoo appeared before the court.