Lahore, Pakistan (Commonwealth Union)_Like all babies, the newest additions to the Lahore Safari Zoo are playful, curious, and full of joie de vivre – they play hide and seek, hide the treasure, race each other, and use Mommy as a shield when things get rough.
Lahore’s Safari Zoo recently welcomed six new lion cubs born of two lionesses, all of who are now between two- and three-and-a-half-months-old, making the collective number of lions at the zoo a total of forty.
However, Pakistan has come under harsh criticism for its zoos and enclosed animal spaces. While the Zoo’s Deputy Director says that of the 242 acres the zoo covers, thirty acres are for the 40 lions to roam freely, the actual conditions in which animals are treated have had animal rights activists up in arms.
The criticism is not unfounded. An elephant who fell into a pond recently became critically ill and died. This should never have happened. Two lions died of asphyxiation after handlers used to smoke in their dens to get them out, which again displays utter ignorance. A fair number of white tiger cubs have also died due to a wide range of reasons most of which could have been avoided.
The most famous was when Oscar-winning actress and singer Cher turned the spotlight on the Asian male elephant Kavan, who was known as the world’s loneliest elephant. Living in a barren patch of land, he was forced to perform for the crowds that came to see him when handlers poked him with nailed bull hooks. His companion died of sepsis due to the bull hook nails digging deep into her skin. When Kavan was finally freed, he had infected wounds not only because of the bull hooks but also because of the chain which left permanent scars. His loneliness led to psychosis and obesity.
Cher’s expose also revealed that elephants in particular suddenly disappeared from their enclosures, ending up on the plates of the wealthy.
With the world’s eyes turned on the zoo and its newest babies, animal lovers can only hope they will be treated humanely, given adequate space to roam, and looked after vigilantly. It’s a shame if these too succumb to the fate of their older relatives. They are babies after all!
