Rano the Karachi zoo bear begins new life in Islamabad sanctuary

KARACHI: After years spent in confinement and loneliness, 24-year-old brown bear Rano has finally been relocated from the Karachi Zoo to a sanctuary in Islamabad, where she will receive medical care, rehabilitation, and the chance to live in a more natural environment.

According to the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), Rano was flown to Islamabad aboard a Pakistan Air Force C-130 aircraft on Wednesday morning. The flight departed PAF Faisal Base at 8:30 a.m. and landed at Nur Khan Airbase a little after 11:30 a.m.

A two-member veterinary team accompanied her throughout the journey to ensure her safety and well-being.

Rano was transported from the zoo to the airbase in a wooden crate placed on a cargo truck. “At just three calls, she walked from her enclosure into the crate,” Sana Raja of the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) told Pakistan TV Digital, noting that Rano remained calm and continued eating during the move, and did not require sedation.

Sindh Wildlife Conservator Javed Ahmed Mahar said Rano was closely monitored throughout the flight and slept during most of the journey despite the aircraft noise. Upon arrival, she was taken directly to the IWMB’s bear rehabilitation facility, where she was given food and placed under quarantine for medical observation.

Rano will remain under supervision before being transferred to a permanent sanctuary space where she will be paired with another bear. “Her stay here could last up to a month for examination and other protocols before she is shifted to a larger area,” said Anees, an IWMB official.

For years, Rano lived in difficult conditions at the Karachi Zoo, first in a Victorian-era concrete pit and later in a metal cage.

She was frequently observed pacing restlessly, a common sign of stress and psychological distress in captive animals. Her situation prompted animal rights activists to petition the Sindh High Court, which last month ordered her relocation and formed a committee to ensure the transfer was carried out safely.

Rano was originally brought to the Karachi Zoo in 2017 under an animal exchange program. She has lived in solitary confinement since 2020, following the death of the only other bear in the enclosure.

Her arrival in Islamabad marks the beginning of what wildlife authorities hope will be her first experience of comfort, companionship, and peace in years.