Foreign veterinary team examines ailing African elephant in Pakistan

A foreign veterinary expert team has been taking care of an ailing African elephant called Madhubala at the Safari Park in Pakistani city of Karachi.

Egyptian veterinarian, Dr Amir Khalil, said that she has been undergoing prolonged treatment for tuberculosis and is suffering from worsening health problems.

"Madhubala was facing severe problem with losing of body weight, over 200 kilograms. She lost, a lot of muscles, had swelling in her leg, and some wounds in her nail and foot," he said.

However, he said she had bacterial and parasitic infections but that after very intensive treatment, the blood results had improved, adding that "strict protocol of medication is very important".

“We started very intensive treatment with the colleagues here. We are now, after three weeks, the blood results are improved. There is no bacterial and no parasitic infection,” he said.

The park called in experts, including Khalil, after seeing continued deterioration in Madhubala’s condition.

She reportedly collapsed twice in her enclosure in recent weeks but the veterinarian said there was still hope.

"We should not give up. We are here not because we give up, because we see there is hope and there is teamwork, which I appreciate so much from the team here," he said.

Animal rights activists have also called for keeping the animals in their natural environment instead of keeping them in zoos or private farm houses.

"Captivity is a very bad thing, especially for wildlife," said animal rights activist Jade Allen.

"Animals should be kept in their natural environment instead of keeping them in zoos or any private farmhouses," he added.