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Team of global experts to arrive in karachi to supervise relocation of elephant madhubala to safari park.

https://arab.news/bewtr

• Madhubala has been in solitary confinement at Karachi Zoo since April last year after her companion, Noor Jehan, passed away from illness
• Animal rights activists in Pakistan have long demanded that animals, especially elephants, be shifted to ‘species-appropriate’ sanctuaries

KARACHI: A team of Four Paws, a Vienna-based animal welfare organization, will soon arrive in Pakistan’s southern city of Karachi to oversee the shifting of an elephant, Madhubala, to a new sanctuary at the city’s Safari Park, Four Paws said on Tuesday. Madhubala, a female elephant, has been in solitary confinement at Karachi Zoo since April 2023 after her companion, elephant Noor Jehan, passed away from illness. She is to be shifted to a sanctuary in Safari Park, where she will be in the company of two other elephants. Madhubala, one of only three captive elephants alive in Pakistan, was brought to the South Asian country with three other elephants from Tanzania in 2009, with Four Paws experts saying earlier this year that solitary confinement had taken a strong toll on her. Animal rights activists have long campaigned against the plight of animals in Pakistan, especially elephants, and demanded they be shifted to “species-appropriate” locations such as Safari Park. “This marks a significant milestone in the efforts to ensure a safe and secure species-appropriate environment for African elephant Madhubala, who will have a chance to be united with her sisters Malika and Sonia,” Four Paws said in a statement, adding that the adaptation work at Karachi’s Safari Park had reached its final stage. “As part of the final preparations, the focus now lies on completing the landscaping of the elephant enclosure at Safari Park, finalizing enrichment features, and continuing the necessary training of the three elephants, including resuming crate training for Madhubala.” In addition to these tasks, complex logistical arrangements are being finalized and the exact relocation date of Madhubala will be announced in the coming weeks, according to Four Paws. Madhubala will be carried from the Karachi Zoo to the Safari Park in a huge transport crate. The elephant is currently being trained to enter and exit the crate by herself and sit inside it.

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Pakistani forces kill six militants in restive northwest — military.

• The militants were killed in two separate incidents near Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan
• Pakistan blames surge in militancy on militants operating out of Afghanistan, Kabul denies it

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces have killed six militants in two separate engagements in the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, the Pakistani military said on Monday. A militant was killed in an exchange of fire during an intelligence-based operation in North Waziristan’s Dosali area, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing. In the second incident, Pakistani forces intercepted a group of militants while infiltrating the country’s border with Afghanistan in the South Waziristan district. Five militants were killed as a result. “Pakistan has consistently been asking Interim Afghan Government to ensure effective border management on their side of the border,” the ISPR said in a statement. “Interim Afghan Government is expected to fulfil its obligations and deny the use of Afghan soil by Khwarij [militants] for perpetuating acts of terrorism against Pakistan.” Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which borders Afghanistan, has witnessed a number of attacks by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militant groups that targeted security forces convoys and check posts, besides targeted killings and kidnappings of law enforcers and government officials in recent months. Pakistan has frequently accused neighboring Afghanistan of sheltering and supporting militant groups, urging the Taliban administration in Kabul to prevent its territory from being used by armed factions to launch cross-border attacks. Afghan officials, however, deny involvement, insisting Pakistan’s security issues are an internal matter of Islamabad.  

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Pakistan navy test-fires ship-launched ballistic missile ranging 350 kilometers.

• The missile is capable of striking land and sea targets with ‘high precision’
• Pakistan, India consider their missile programs as deterrent against each other

KARACHI: Pakistan Navy has successfully test-fired a ship-launched ballistic missile having a range of 350 km and capable of striking both land and sea targets, it said on Monday. Pakistan sees its missile development as a deterrent against nuclear-armed arch-foe India. Both countries have fought multiple wars since their independence from Britain in 1947. The two South Asian neighbors have long been developing missiles of varying ranges in a bid to ensure deterrence against possible attacks from each other, with analysts often warning these developments could push the region into an arms race. “Pakistan Navy conducted a successful flight test of an indigenously developed ship-launched ballistic missile,” the Directorate General of Public Relations (DGPR) of Pakistan Navy said in a statement. “The weapon system with 350km range is capable of engaging land and sea targets with high precision.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikldB3jieWo The flight test of the weapon system, equipped with a state-of-the-art navigation system and maneuverability features, was witnessed by Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf, senior naval officers, scientists and engineers. President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir and Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar Sidhu congratulated the participating navy units and scientists on the development.    

Qatar investment team due in Pakistan this month, PM Sharif says after Doha visit

• The statement comes days after Sharif visited Qatar seeking to bolster economic cooperation between both nations
• Before arriving in Doha, Sharif attended the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh and met the Saudi Crown Prince

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday a team of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) will visit Pakistan this month to set up an information technology (IT) park in the South Asian country. The statement came days after Sharif visited Qatar while seeking to bolster economic cooperation amid Pakistan’s efforts to boost foreign investment to stabilize its frail $350 billion economy. Before arriving in Doha, Sharif attended the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he discussed trade and investment with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Speaking at a meeting of his cabinet, Sharif said a QIA team will visit Pakistan this month, while its chief of Asia-Pacific & Africa Investments, Faisal Bin Thani Al Thani, will also arrive in Islamabad by the end of this month. “Qatar emir said the same thing. They also suggested setting up an IT park here [in Pakistan],” Sharif told his cabinet members in televised comments. During his visit, Sharif led delegation-level talks with the Qatari emir before holding a separate meeting with him to discuss a wide array of issues. “The leaders reviewed the entire spectrum of Pakistan-Qatar relations, exploring potential avenues for enhanced cooperation in trade, potential areas of investment, energy, and culture,” Sharif’s office said last week. He also met a delegation of the Qatar Businessmen Association (QBA) and invited them to invest in Pakistan’s energy, infrastructure and technology sectors. The developments came amid Pakistan’s attempts to increase trade and foreign investment after it narrowly escaped a default last year by securing a last-gasp $3 billion financial assistance package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The South Asian country has since sought to promote closer economic ties with regional and international allies to bolster its fragile economy, which has been suffering from a prolonged macroeconomic crisis.  

Pakistan central bank cuts key rate by 250 bps to 15%

• Monday’s move follows cuts of 150 bps in June, 100 in July and 200 in September
• It takes the total policy rate cuts in the country to 700 bps in under five months

KARACHI: Pakistan’s central bank cut its key policy rate by 250 basis points to 15 percent on Monday, it said in a statement, for a fourth straight reduction since June, as the country keeps up efforts to revive a sluggish economy with inflation easing. Most respondents in a Reuters poll last week expected a cut of 200 bps after inflation moved down sharply from a multi-decade high of nearly 40 percent in May 2023, saying reductions were needed to bolster growth. Average consumer price index inflation in the South Asian country is 8.7 percent in the current financial year, which started in July, the statistics bureau says. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects inflation to average 9.5 percent for the year ending June. Monday’s move follows cuts of 150 bps in June, 100 bps in July, and 200 in September that have taken the rate from an all-time high of 22 percent, set in June 2023 and left unchanged for a year. It takes the total cuts to 700 bps in under five months. October inflation came in at 7.2 percent, slightly above the government’s expectation of 6 percent to 7 percent. The finance ministry expects inflation to slow further to 5.5 percent to 6.5 percent in November. However, inflation could pick up again in 2025, driven by electricity and gas price increases after a new $7-billion IMF bailout, and the potential impact of taxes on the retail, wholesale and the farm sector announced in the June budget to take effect in January 2025, some analysts say.  

Personal physician of Pakistan’s Imran Khan gives ‘okay’ report after examination allowed — party

• Dr. Asim Yousaf examines ex-prime minister’s health with a team of doctors from PIMS Hospital
• Khan has been in jail since August last year and faces more than 200 legal cases since his ouster

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan’s personal physician has given a positive assessment of his health after all his reports turned out to be “okay,” Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said on Monday. Dr. Asim Yousaf, the ex-premier’s personal physician, along with a team of doctors from the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) was allowed to examine Khan’s health, following weeks of claims made by the PTI regarding “mistreatment” being meted out to the ex-premier, who has been in jail since August last year. The party claims also prompted Khan’s ex-wife, Jemima Goldsmith, to express concerns about his condition. Consequently, a team of doctors was allowed to visit Khan in jail who found him in good health. “The personal physician of Imran Khan, Dr. Asim Yousaf was allowed in, to examine the former PM, along with another team of doctors from Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences hospital Islamabad, with an okay report on his physical health,” the PTI said in a statement. The former premier had petitioned the Islamabad High Court in October to grant permission for regular medical examination by his personal physicians. Khan, who served as prime minister from 2018 to 2022, has been entangled in more than 200 legal cases since he was ousted, in what he says is a campaign to keep him from returning to power. Pakistani authorities deny the allegation. In April, the former cricket star and his wife had their 14-year prison sentences for graft suspended by a high court. Khan then had a 10-year sentence for treason overturned last month but remains in Adiala jail, south of the capital Islamabad, over an illegal marriage conviction. He had been cleared for release before that trio of sentences in the days running up to Pakistan’s February 8 general elections.

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The 19-year-old African elephant Madhubala has been living alone at Karachi Zoo in Pakistan for almost a year. Animal welfare organization Four Paws said on Tuesday that she might be relocated soon.

In April 2023, elephant Noor Jehan died at Karachi Zoo . She was only 17 years old. The poor living conditions at the zoo were the reason she died. After her death, Four Paws requested the immediate relocation of Madhubala to Karachi Safari Park.

After political setbacks delayed the process, Four Paws and the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

This agreement paves the way for crucial improvements at Karachi Safari Park, setting the stage for Madhubala’s move and the reunion with her sisters, Malika and Sonia. Four Paws experts are in Karachi to supervise the improvement work at the park.

Madhubala’s solitary confinement has taken a severe toll on her mental health, with boredom being a major stress factor. However, efforts to train her to enter a transport crate have sparked her playfulness and engaged her both physically and cognitively.

“Madhubala has made great progress so far, and with the remaining training, we are making sure that she is fully prepared for the two-hour transfer from Karachi Zoo to Karachi Safari Park,” veterinarian Amir Khalil said.

“Even though the long time in solitude has left some emotional scars, Madhubala is adjusting well and curious about the preparation efforts. It is high time she experienced more joy again, and a life worthy of an elephant,” he added.

Karachi Safari Park will have water pools for bathing, skin care, and temperature regulation. Various enrichments, such as hay nets, diverse terrains, and new objects, will encourage natural behaviors such as foraging and dust bathing.

Elephant Noor Jehan dies at Karachi Zoo in Pakistan

Elephant Miyako’s 50-Years of solitude sparks urgent call for change in Japan

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Karachi Safari Park in Pakistan

• Location info
• 2 Relocated

Karachi Safari Park, located at Main University Road, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, in Karachi, Pakistan , was founded in 1995 and the first elephant arrived in 2009.

Living elephants

• ♀ Malaika born 2006-00-00
• ♂ Sonu born 2006-00-00

Recommended Citation

Sources used for this article is among others:.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karachi_Safari_Park
• https://www.samaa.tv/news/2021/03/elephants-in-karachi-kmc-denies-treatment-permission/
• Google maps
• elephant-news.com
• elefanten-fotolexikon.eu
• Elephant Commentator
• Asianelephant.net
• Zoo Chat (search for elephants+Karachi+Safari+Park)
• Zoological Society of London online library
• Amazon Books
• Google Books

Pakistan's last captive elephants

Will the #karachielephants be reunited.

These animals deserve a better life

Support our work to improve animal welfare worldwide, help pakistan's last captive elephants, working towards a better future for the #karachielephants.

In November 2021, the Sindh High Court in Pakistan called on FOUR PAWS to assess the wellbeing of four African elephants in Karachi Zoo and Karachi Safari Park in Pakistan. All female, between the ages of 16 and 17, they are the last known captive elephants in the country. The assessment found all elephants in need of proper diet, enrichment, and medical treatment. FOUR PAWS also strongly recommended that all four elephants be reunited at Karachi Safari Park.

The elephants – caught in the wild at a young age – came to Pakistan together in 2009 and were separated after their arrival. Noor Jehan and Madhubala were moved to Karachi Zoo while Malika and Sonu were brought to Karachi Safari Park.

Follow our journey to help these elephants come together in a species-appropriate environment.

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December 7th

In a waiting position Madhubala is responding positively to the training and is improving quickly. The intelligent girl enjoys the training immensely and displays remarkable bravery and cooperation. The training is not only a necessary preparation for her transport but also a positive and crucial enrichment for Madhubala, as solitary confinement had a profound negative impact on her mental health.   However, we find ourselves again in a waiting position for a response from the authorities. Until an official reply is received to advance with the next steps, FOUR PAWS is unable to help and proceed with the required steps for the relocation, including the final preparations at the Safari Park. Days and months have passed, leaving Madhubala in solitary confinement, in poor and noisy living conditions. We are looking forward to working together with KMC on the next steps.

November 10th

Progress at Karachi Zoo Madhubala’s taken her first steps in the transport crate last week! She was curious but also careful, testing the ground with her trunk before taking the next step. Now she already goes into the crate easily and is comfortable staying in it for some time. She even managed to come out of the crate backward! We are so proud of her, and it fills our hearts with joy to see her so motivated !  Now the zoo staff will continue the training with Madhubala following the recommendations of our experts and only applying positive reinforcement. They will  maintain  the daily routine, incorporating crate feeding, and continue with her overall training. It still needs time until Madhubala is ready for the transfer. Patience is key as Madhubala occasionally takes a step back, a natural part of the learning process . As of now, there is no fixed date for her relocation. Various variables influence the transfer timeline, encompassing the completion of essential constructions and improvements at the Safari Park, the successful culmination of training, and the acquisition of necessary permits and government documents. We  can't  wait to see her reunited with her sisters Malika and Sonia at Karachi Safari Park after all the important and necessary adjustments and extensions to the enclosure are done. The plan is to triple the area of the enclosure so that the three elephants have a large space to roam around, stay under trees, and go into the pool or take a mud bath. We hope for lonely Madhubala that this day will come soon.  

November 2nd

Crate training Madhubala Last week, our elephant expert arrived in Karachi to  commence  the crate training with lonely elephant Madhubala at the zoo. In preparation for starting the training, the transport crate was positioned inside Madhubala's enclosure already end of August, and the floor beneath it was leveled to ensure the crate remained stable and  wouldn't  startle Madhubala.   So far, our beloved elephant girl is in good physical condition, but her solitary confinement has had a profound impact on her mental health. She  exhibits  aggressive behavior stemming from immense frustration  regarding  her situation. Her only companion is a car tire that she carries around all day. According to our elephant expert, her behavior with the tire  indicates  that her mental health has suffered due to prolonged solitary confinement, and she is using this tire as a coping mechanism. The crate training is not only a necessary preparation for her transport, but a positive and crucial enrichment for Madhubala. She displays great motivation but approaches the new ground cautiously, always testing it with her trunk before taking a step forward. We are immensely proud of her, and we eagerly await the opportunity to remove her from this distressing living condition and reunite her with her sisters,  Malika  and Sonia at the Safari Park.  We appreciate the extended support by the Mayor of Karachi for  facilitating  our team in their preparations for Madhubala’s big move. Our gratitude to all those helping us in getting Madhubala ready for her big day - the urgently needed relocation.  

October 20th

Good news from Karachi Progress is once again underway in Karachi. We have received the green light to resume our preparations for the urgently needed relocation of lonely elephant Madhubala with the support of KMC and the Task Force (group of experts working for the wellbeing of the Karachi elephants).   In the upcoming weeks, our husbandry expert and elephant specialist will be travelling to Karachi to  initiate  the crate training with Madhubala at the zoo. This training is crucial to ensure that Madhubala willingly enters the crate on her big moving day and  remains  calm during transport .   Our experts will not only work with Madhubala but also with her mahouts on how to conduct positive reinforcement training.   The mission in Karachi holds a special place in our hearts, as we have dedicated our efforts to working towards a better future for elephants for  nearly 2  years now. Our efforts will not stop until Madhubala is liberated from the noisy zoo, the poor living conditions, and the solitary confinement, and is reunited with her sisters Malika and Sonia in the expanded area of the Safari Park.

October 3rd

Continuing the preparations It has been over a month since our team returned from Karachi, and during this time, we have been in a waiting position, relying on the authorities and KMC to send an official invitation and approve the plans that will enable us to  proceed  with preparations for the urgent relocation of Madhubala.  Currently, Madhubala is in good physical condition for transportation, but her time in solitary confinement has taken a toll on her mental health. This lonely elephant urgently needs to be reunited with her sisters,  Malika  and Sonia, at the Safari Park. However, to make this happen, significant improvements must be made at the Safari Park to ensure the well-being and safety of the elephants, keepers, and visitors. This process is estimated to take at least 1.5 months.  When our team returned from Karachi, we were content with what we had  initiated  and accomplished during our stay:  Madhubala's transport crate has been completed and delivered to the zoo, and our elephant expert is ready to start with the crate training for her to feel comfortable during the transport. We also met with architects, engineers, and construction workers at the Safari Park to discuss and advise on the necessary improvements to the elephant enclosure.     We are committed to seeing Pakistan's last three elephants roaming in a spacious and species-appropriate enclosure.  We need to act now by  assisting  with the reconstruction efforts of her new home before we start training Madhubala for the big moving day.

August 2 7 th  

Visit to Madhubala, Mailika and Sonia A fter  the meeting with the newly elected Mayor Murtaza Wahab, where we got the green light for Madhubala’s relocation and the urgently needed improvements of the enclosure of the Safari Park, our team  couldn't  wait to check on Madhubala . She is physically healthy and fit to travel, but the solitary keeping after Noor Jehan's death affects her a lot. Female elephants are highly social creatures. Madhubala’s seems bored, apathetic , and sad. Her relocation is more urgent than ever. She needs to leave the loneliness and the noise of Karachi Zoo and be reunited with her family to improve physically and mentally again .  After our visit, and a stop to check on how the transport crate was progressing, we drove to the Safari Park to see Sonia und Malika and to talk to the senior architect to discuss the necessary improvements that need to be done at the Safari Park.  We were happy to see Mailika and Sonia in good health conditions and  can't  wait to see the three female elephants meeting again after 14 years

August 24th

Green light to relocate Madhubala The FOUR PAWS team has returned to Pakistan to continue its efforts to free Madhubala from solitary keeping. By relocating her from Karachi Zoo to Safari Park,  Madhubala will have space to roam in a large, green enclosure and  will be reunited with her family, Sonia and Malika , from whom she was separated 14 years ago. T he government has dedicated a pool and  additional  land of 1.5 acres for the elephant enclosure at the Safari Park, as an initial step before  establishing  an even larger elephant sanctuary.  Read more.  

Noor Jehan's Autopsy Report The examination of Noor Jehan in April this year showed that she had suffered an inner hematoma with a damaged pelvic diaphragm, likely caused by trauma. The team also conducted laboratory tests which showed a severe parasitic infection in her blood. To prevent  Madhubala  from succumbing to the same fate as Noor Jehan, the team also t ested   her  blood , which  was  positive for the parasite . Madhubala has since been on medication. Once free from the parasitic infection, she will be ready for relocation. Please support our work to get Madhubala into a species-appropriate home. 

Noor Jehan's Legacy and Madhubala's Future After the tragic death of Noor Jehan, her friend Madhubala recently entered the enclosure for the first time to say goodbye. For health and safety reasons, giving Madhubala this chance sooner was impossible. She went straight to the place under the tree where Noor Jehan fought for her life. The authorities announced that they would dedicate land to build an elephant sanctuary with the support of FOUR PAWS. We will do everything in our power  so  Madhubala can enjoy the rest of her life in a species-appropriate place. Please support our work.  

A heartbreaking goodbye to Noor Jehan Noor  Jehan  passed away this morning. Despite all our tireless efforts and the endless work of the team on-site, we could not get her back on her feet. She fought for days but succumbed to her critical condition. As agreed with the authorities, we recommend that Madhubala should be relocated as soon as possible to a species appropriate place to at least give her a chance at a better life. N oor  Jehan's  tragic story is a reminder of the suffering that captive wild animals endure in Pakistan and around the world. Read more .

Noor Jehan's story Until the authorities make a decision about Noor Jehan's future, we will continue working hard to help her and ease her pain. There is a chance that she can recover and we will do all we can for her. FOUR PAWS is returning as soon as possible to Karachi to support in its best capacity.  We want to thank all the volunteers and the mahouts who have been on Noor Jehan’s site day and night over the last week, even during the special times of Ramadan. They are all doing their best to comfort her: turning her from side to side, feeding her food and medicine. Watch the video to learn more about Noor Jehan.  Please support our work to help animals like Noor Jehan.

Noor Jehan's life still hangs in the balance A committee of national and international experts and veterinarians will advise on how to proceed with Noor Jehan’s future. Until the government has formed a decision, we will continue to help and ease her suffering. At the same time, we are still concerned about  the relocation of Madhubala.  The federal and Sindh government are considering shutting down the Karachi Zoo permanently. This could be a turning point for the welfare of wild animals in captivity in Pakistan. Please support our efforts.

A critical situation for Noor Jehan Sadly, despite best efforts and ongoing supervision and support from FOUR PAWS, the health condition of Noor Jehan is not improving. Although we have made several attempts, she is unable to stand on her own, and her condition remains critical and uncertain.  An urgent committee of international and national experts and veterinarians will advise on how to proceed with Noor Jehan's future. Meanwhile, the on-site team is doing everything possible to ease her suffering, and we appreciate everyone involved in this effort.  We urge for the immediate transfer of the healthy elephant, Madhubala, to prevent another tragedy.

New worries about Noor Jehan FOUR PAWS received an urgent call about Noor Jehan. She was already laying for some hours in the pool in her enclosure, unable to get up by herself. The FOUR PAWS team  immediately   advis ed to arrange  a crane to get her out of the pool and  worked until late at night together with the local team via video calls to find  possible solutions  to save her   and  provide  emergency medical treatment. Noor Jehan is weak and resting on the sand pile next to the tree, but our team is constantly monitoring and supervising her, giving her the best care possible. We won't give up on her!

Noor Jehan's diagnosis   Noor Jehan's examination was a success!  The team supported her with ropes carried by a crane to perform the planned assessment. Due to her condition Noor Jehan wasn't strong enough to stand on her own.  The examination showed that she had suffered an inner hematoma with a damaged pelvic diaphragm, likely caused by a trauma. This explains her pain and unusual body position. The team conducted numerous tests and treated her open wounds as well as applied medications, vitamins, pain killers, and hydrotherapy. The following days after the examination we could already see slight improvements and  there is hope of recovery if the Zoo follows the  mandatory recommendations by FOUR PAWS.  Read more about her examination, diagnosis and recovery plan here .

Back at Karachi Zoo Today our team arrived in Karachi and rushed to the Zoo to get an impression of Noor Jehan’s condition and to finalise the logistics planning for the important examination.  Due to her immobilisation Noor Jehan needs to be stabilised and our team came up with a special plan for that: the elephant will be supported with a crane and ropes during the planned sedation and examination.  Just from looking into her eyes we can see the pain Noor Jehan is in. Her partner Madhubala often stands next to her to protect her.  Tomorrow will be an important day, which should give us more clarity about the reason for Noor Jehan‘s deteriorating health condition. Read the full story here .

Emergency Mission for Noor Jehan Elephant Noor Jehan is in urgent need of help!  Since our evaluation in August and our recommendation to relocate the two zoo elephants, nothing has been done. Now heartbreaking footage from the Karachi Zoo shows Noor Jehan in critical health condition ! She can hardly put weight on her hind limbs  – this body posture  indicates that she is in  excruciating  pain. FOUR PAWS has finally received the invitation from the Karachi authorities to help Noor Jehan, and our team of veterinarians is rushing to Karachi  right now to provide urgent medical help . We urge the authorities to relocate Noor Jehan and Madhubala to a safer, species-appropriate home! Please support our mission to help Noor Jehan. 

Health Status Update of all four elephants Both Noor Jehan and Madhubala are pain free and their wounds are healing well! We receive regular updates on their recovery process from the caretakers and local veterinarians. The keepers treat the elephants wounds twice a day, and the local vets check on the healing process regularly. At the end of September, the elephants had finished their antibiotics and anti-inflammatory treatment. We are also receiving regular reports from Safari Park on the conditions of the feet of elephants Malika and Sonja, and we are incredibly happy to see the progress the caretakers achieved through regular foot care. Watch this moving video for a behind-the-scenes look at what it took to make this mission possible.

August 18th

Noor Jehan is recovering well Our team of veterinarian experts successfully operated on Noor Jehan today.   The surgery lasted nearly four hours. While the surrounding tissue was severely infected, the tusk was not as rotten as Madhubala's. The team cut and flattened the tusk and then removed the inflamed tissue. Like Madhubala, Noor Jehan received pain killers, antibiotics, and vaccinations. The team didn’t find any inflammations, but a small tumor which was removed, and samples were sent to the laboratory. The elephants will receive post-operational treatment.

August 17th

Madhubala's operation was a success After more than 5 intense hours , our team on site is happy to report that  the surgery went well and elephant Madhubala   is feeling fine ! The tooth was 40 cm long and rotten, which is why it was difficult to remove in one piece. The root is still inside but with flushing twice a day, we expect the healing process to go well – inside and out. Madhubala, is already eating! We are very happy about the results and are excited for tomorrow's treatment of Noor Jehan.  

August 16th

Team is on-site and preparing Our team is on site at Karachi Zoo and spent all of yesterday making the final preparations for Noor Jehan and Madhubala's upcoming extraordinary dental surgery. Much of the  equipment had to be custom-made by hand for such giant patients, thus, our team has been working toward this operation for months – organising, training the elephants, and building the special tools.     Tomorrow, the veterinarian experts will  operate on Madhubala, and then Noor Jehan the following day.  We also visited Malika and Sonu at the Karachi Safari Park and were happy to see that they are doing fine. The caretakers received training on how to take care of the elephants' feet, which already look much better! 

August 11th

Training the elephants for surgery Mathias Otto, an elephant specialist, is already on site for our arrival in Karachi next week. His mission is to use positive reinforcement training to prepare Noor Jehan and Madhubala to lift their trunks for their surgeries. Both elephants are quick learners and have welcomed the additional attention and exercise.

August 10th

Urgnent dental surgery needed The situation for Noor Jehan and Madhubala has worsened. There is a lot of swelling around Noor Jehan's tusk sockets, a sign that they are seriously infected, not to mention causing her great pain. Such an infection could travel up into her skull and potentially cause brain damage and even blindness! Madhubala’s condition also requires immediate attention. FOUR PAWS can help! The High Court of Sindh in Pakistan has appointed Dr Amir Khalil and the FOUR PAWS team to treat Noor Jehan and Madhubala. We have already started with preparations. Please support our mission to help these poor animals.

November 30th 

Elephant assessment in Karachi, Pakistan Following an invitation by the Sindh High Court, the FOUR PAWS team   travel led  to Karachi, Pakistan to carry out a two-day independent assessment of the wellbeing   of the four African elephants in Karachi Zoo and Karachi Safari Park. Among the recommendations given, the team, led by Dr Amir Khalil found elephants  Noor Jehan, Madhubala in need of dental surgery due to infections caused by broken-off  tusks . This unique surgery    required the development of special  tools and equipment . Read more about the assessment and the outlook for the future of these elephants here .

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Get to Know Everything about Safari Park in Karachi

Home » Lifestyle » Get to Know Everything about Safari Park in Karachi

In This Post: – Facilities of Safari Park – Future Projects of Safari Park – Location of Safari Park – Ticket Prices of Safari Park – Timings of Safari Park

Home to several endangered species, Safari Park is spread over 148 acres of land. The vast green landscape holds various wild animals kept in large enclosures so that visitors can view them in their natural habitat. This wildlife sanctuary is not situated in the outskirts of the city as normally is the case. Safari Park in Karachi is located in the bustling neighbourhood of Gulshan-e-Iqbal and is in close proximity to Gulistan-e-Jauhar. Residents of these localities usually prefer spending their weekends in the serene and peaceful environment of Safari Park. Let us walk you through the various facilities offered by one of the most beautiful natural parks in Karachi.

Facilities Offered by Safari Park

#kmc Posted by Karachi Safari Park on Sunday, July 19, 2020

The perfect spot for picnickers, Safari Park offers a host of fun-filled recreational activities that can make your family trip a memorable one. Be prepared for some physical exertion as you will have to walk a long distance inside the park, but it is worth the visit. The vast green lawn adds to the serene experience. Here is a list of facilities at Safari Park:

Safari experience

Amusement park.

• Go Aish Theme Park

Bus and Train Rides

Kashmir point, elephant enclave.

Let us discuss the facilities offered by Safari Park in Karachi in more detail.

It is a rare experience to view wildlife in their natural setting. For children and students this is a great learning opportunity. There are about 600 species of animals and birds kept in large enclosures so that the animals do not feel confined otherwise kept in a small cage. The animals freely roam inside the enclosure.

Visitors can take a bus ride to view ostriches and deer running at free will. The thrilling jolt of discovery at spotting a zebra or a giraffe in the wilderness is what defines the safari experience at Safari Park in Karachi.

Apart from the exciting safari experience, kids can also enjoy various rides at the amusement park. You can purchase a ride by entering some tokens. Go Aish Theme Park, which is temporarily closed at the moment, is also one of the highlights of the park. It has rope climbing, zip line, quad biking and a mini golf course. It was a major attraction before the authorities decided to close it down for some renovations. It is expected that Go Aish Theme Park will open up soon.

Nothing can beat the pleasure of viewing white swans wading their way through the lake water at Safari Park in Karachi. Children and adults gather around Swan Lake and feed the white birds with some popcorn and bread. Watching the mother duck leading the pack of ducklings and the swans calmly paddling their way across the lake to catch a few pieces of bread is a relaxing experience. The sounds of nature and greenery add to the serenity.

There was a chair lift at Safari Park, which has now been closed. It is expected that the service will be resumed soon. We will update the piece as soon as the chair lift at Safari Park starts operating. Make sure to bookmark this page!

To thoroughly enjoy the safari experience and to make it easy for the visitors to spot animals in the natural setting, bus and train rides are available. Book a seat in the bus at PKR 30 and it will take you through Gate number 1 and 2. Monkey, lama, zebra, neil cow, deer can be seen roaming freely in the meadows. Although there are no maps to direct where the wildlife enclosures are, these bus and train rides are quite helpful.

If you want to experience viewing the beautiful valleys of Kashmir in Karachi, then you must visit the newly built Kashmir Point in Safari Park. It is built over a 4-acre area, where water cascades down a 210 feet high mountainous slope. The views are breathtaking, to say the least. Kashmir Point is an ideal picnic spot. It was recently inaugurated by the Mayor of Karachi.

Live safari trains are not available before 2 PM. However, you can pay PKR 600 for a 30 seater bus, irrespective of the passenger count, and avail the safari experience via train after 10 AM in the morning. If you can wait a bit, then all you need to do is pay only PKR 30 and go on a safari tour. During the live safari tour, you can go only up to Gate no. 2 and Gate no. 3 is closed.

The best entertaining feature is the elephant enclave in which you can pay the trainer PKR 50 and go inside the enclave and take pictures with the elephant. Children enjoy the experience and remember it for a lifetime.

Future Projects for Safari Park in Karachi

Renovations and upgrades are underway for one of the largest family parks in Karachi. It is expected that a large aviary will be constructed inside the park, where rare species of birds will be imported and kept. Boating will also be introduced in the Swan Lake. A camping site is being developed, which will cover around 300 acres of land. A one-of-its-kind museum will be set up comprising endangered birds and details of those bird species that are now extinct.

Ticket Prices of Safari Park in Karachi

The entrance ticket price of Safari Park is quite minimal. You can enter the premises by paying a meagre amount of PKR 30 per head, which includes adults and children both. Be prepared to pay a few extra bucks once inside the park. You might be required to pay PKR 30 more to avail the bus ride which takes you through the Safari Park.

The trainer at the Elephant Enclave also needs to be paid an additional PKR 50 for taking snaps with the elephant inside its cage. Overall, you can experience viewing wild animals in their natural habitat at a small cost.

Timings of Safari Park

The timings of Safari Park in Karachi are from 6 AM in the morning until 8 PM at night. Some of the facilities such as the safari bus tour begin from 2 PM in the afternoon.

Where is it Located?

Safari Park in Karachi is located in Gulshan-e-Iqbal , which is a well-planned locality of the megalopolis. If you are planning to purchase a property in the heart of Karachi , then take a look at the available plots , flats and houses on sale in Gulshan-e-Iqbal . You won’t be disappointed as it is home to various lush green parks, good educational institutions and top notch healthcare facilities. Gulistan-e-Jauhar is another popular neighbourhood near Safari Park. It is a hub of apartment complexes and you will find different sized flats according to your preference. There are numerous houses and plots on sale in Jauhar as well. 

So, have you planned your next picnic at Safari Park? Make sure to wear your hats and put on some sunscreen lotion as you will have to walk a long way once inside the park’s premises. You can also arrange a picnic at Paradise Island Water Park and Bahria Adventure Land . Make sure to subscribe to the Zameen Newsletter appearing on the right hand side of the page. Stay tuned to the Zameen Blog appearing on the right hand side of the page. Write to us at [email protected] and we will surely get back to you.

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PRO ELEPHANT NETWORK

KARACHI SAFARI PARK AND ZOO ELEPHANTS

AN URGENT APPEAL FOR EMERGENCY MEDICAL VETERINARY ASSISTANCE FOR MALIKA, SONU, NOOR JEHAN AND MADHU BALA, THE FOUR TANZANIAN ELEPHANTS AT THE KARACHI SAFARI PARK AND ZOO

8TH JANUARY 2021

This appeal was delivered by hand to the Chief Metropolitan Commissioner and the Minister for Wildlife, Mr Murad Ali Shah and Chief Minister Sindh .

This appeal was also sent electronically to Advisor to the Prime Minister, Mr Malik Amin Aslam ; the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency, Director-General Farzana Altaf Shah; the Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism in Tanzania, Dr Damas D Ndumbaro ; High Commissioner Sylvester Mwakinyuke Sangala Ambokile , Tanzanian High Commission to South Africa; High Commissioner Mazhar Javed, Pakistan High Commission to South Africa; Sofie H. Flensborg , Legal Officer, Legal Affairs and Compliance CITES Secretariat; Ivonne Higuero , Secretary General CITES; the Chairperson of the African Union, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi ; the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa ; the Minister of the Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, Barbara Creecy and Mahera Omar , Founder of the Pakistan Animal Welfare Society

The Pro Elephant Network (PREN) consists of an international community of diverse individuals and organizations, comprising expertise from both western and eastern academies, including the fields of science, health, conservation, animal welfare, economics, community leadership, social justice and the law.

URGENT VETERINARIAN INTERVENTION

Members of the Pro Elephant Network have received images and videos of Malika, Sonu, Noor Jehan and Madhu Bala, four elephants held in captivity at the Karachi Safari Park and at the Karachi zoo. The same images and videos are being circulated on various social media platforms. Elephant experts have analysed this material and have advised that in order to prevent unnecessary premature death, an urgent medical assessment and intervention is required.

Members of the Pro Elephant Network are willing to offer expertise, specifically to provide much needed critical veterinary and husbandry support. The implementation of high-priority measures is needed to mitigate the elephants’ critical state of health and to alleviate their obvious suffering.

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Safari Park Karachi - All You Need to Know

Abdullah Khan

Safari Park Karachi is a renowned destination that offers a unique wildlife experience right in the heart of the city. Located in the vibrant neighborhood of Gulshan-e-Iqbal, this park is a haven for nature and animal lovers. Spread across a vast expanse of greenery, Safari Park provides an opportunity to get up close and personal with a diverse range of animals and experience the thrill of being in their presence.

Established in 1970, Safari Park Karachi has become one of the most popular attractions in the city. It offers a fascinating blend of adventure and education, making it an ideal destination for families, friends, and wildlife enthusiasts. The park is conveniently situated near major residential areas, making it easily accessible for visitors from all parts of Karachi.

Services Offered By Safari Park Karachi

Safari Park Karachi offers many services and activities that can make the family trip memorable. The public should prepare for some physical effort as they will have to walk a long distance inside the park, but it is a valuable official visit. The massive green grassland adds to the peaceful experience. Here is a list of services at Safari Park:

• Bus and train ride
• Kashmir point
• Adventure land
• Amusement park
• Elephant enclave
• Go-aish theme park

Fascinations at the Safari Park Karachi

Safari Park Karachi is a fascinating destination that offers various attractions for visitors of all ages. One of the main highlights is the safari ride, where you can observe magnificent animals in their natural habitats. The park also features a bird aviary, a butterfly garden, and a botanical garden showcasing a diverse collection of flora and fauna. Adventure enthusiasts can try the thrilling rope courses and zip lines, adding an element of excitement to their visit.

Animals at Safari Park Karachi

People mainly come to safari parks to see the animals. There is a whole different portion and segment for the wild animals spread over the massive area. There are so many animals at the safari park. The animals range from small to big, wild to calm, and more. The list of animals present in the safari park is below:

• wild pigeons
• mountain goats

And there are a lot of other animals that the visitors can see. The public can also see a lot of different and wide variety of animals at Karachi Zoo.

Location and Contact Number of Safari Park Karachi

Safari Park is conveniently located in the Gulshan-e-Iqbal area of Karachi, making it easily accessible for visitors.

Contact Number

(021)99204300

Getting to the park is convenient with various transportation options available, including taxis, buses, and private vehicles.

Ticket Prices at Safari Park Karachi

The entrance ticket price of Safari Park Karachi is quite minimal. You can enter the premises by paying a meager amount of PKR 30 per head, which includes adults and children. Be prepared to pay a few extra bucks once inside the park. You might be required to pay PKR 30 more to avail of the bus ride which takes you through the Safari Park.

The trainer at the Elephant Enclave also needs to be paid an additional PKR 50 for taking snaps with the elephant inside its cage. Overall, you can experience viewing wild animals in their natural habitat at a small cost.

Timings of Safari Park Karachi

The timings of Safari Park in Karachi are from 6 AM in the morning until 8 PM at night. Some of the facilities such as the safari bus tour begin at 2 PM in the afternoon.

Safari Park Karachi offers an immersive and educational experience, providing visitors with a unique opportunity to connect with nature and wildlife. Whether you're a wildlife enthusiast, a nature lover, or simply looking for a fun day out with family and friends, Safari Park is a must-visit destination in Karachi.

So what are you waiting for? Plan your trip by clicking on the following button and fill the form.  

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Safari park is one of the well-known adventurous places in Karachi. It has a substantial green landscape with different animals and various wild animals. The animals are kept in large cages so that the visitors can see them in their natural habitat. The wildlife sanctuary is in the suburbs of the city. However, they are outside the city for their protection.

Karachi’s safari park is in the full of life neighborhood of Gulshan–e–Iqbal. It is also close to Gulistan-e-jauhar. The public living in these localities choose to spend their weekends in the safari park. Families spend time here because their children love animals, and it is budget-friendly. The safari park has beautiful serene, and the environment is peaceful.

In the year 1970, the government of Karachi made Safari Park. It is one of the oldest parts of Karachi. The most well-known artery, the university road, is close to the safari park. Safari park also offers unique attractions, such as the mini zoo, safari zoo, Go-Aish Adventure Park, and much more.

The public will straightaway fall in love with this park because of the fantastic facilities it is offering. The more time the people spend, they will start encouraging and appreciating the minute and details of the park as well. If people get hungry, there are so many places at this park which offer food and snacks, such as biryani, chips and biscuits.

Safari Park Karachi Ticket Price

The entrée ticket to the safari park is meagre. It is budget-friendly. Individuals can enter the zoo by paying an inadequate amount of PKR 30 per head, which comprises children and adults. However, there are prices to the same facility in the park that people avail. There is a bus ride, which tours you around.

The trainer at the Elephant Enclave also requests an extra PKR 50 for capturing pictures with the elephant inside its enclosure. The public can have the know-how to view the wild animals in their familiar environment at a cheap price.

Location And Safari Park Karachi Contact Number

Karachi’s safari park is in the full of life neighborhood of Gulshan–e–Iqbal. It is also close to Gulistan-e-jauhar

University road Gulshan-e-Iqbal Karachi

Contact number

(021)99204300

Safari Park Karachi Timing

The timings of safari park are the same on weekends and weekdays. The timings start at 6 am, and it closes at 8 am. However, some services, such as the bus ride, begin at 2 pm every day.

Services Offered By Safari Park

Safari park offers many services and activities that can make the family trip memorable. The public should prepare for some physical effort as they will have to walk a long distance inside the park, but it is a valuable official visit. The massive green grassland adds to the peaceful experience. Here is a list of services at Safari Park:

• Bus and train ride
• Kashmir point
• Adventure land
• Amusement park
• Elephant enclave
• Go-aish theme park

Fascinations At A Safari Park

Safari Park has been famous amongst the public f Karachi for many years. This popularity is because of its attractions, facilities, and unique style. Below are some attractions:

The bus ride is one of the best services of the safari park. It offers a bus ride to the main wildlife park. This van will take the individuals to the mini zoo area to see the live wildlife. Various types of wild animals are in the enclosure for the enjoyment of the tourists.

The bus ride will take people through gate number 1 and gate number 2. People can see various animals through the passage, such as zebra, lamb, monkey, elephant, and deer. However, there are no maps to guide where wildlife enclosures are. But the bus and train ride are helpful.

The safari park has an attractive swan lake with so many ducks inside it. The lake features a pagoda-style sitting area for the ducks. A lot of other species are also in the collection.

The preference of watching white swans paddling their way from side to side of the lake water at Safari Park in Karachi is breathtaking. Youngsters and grown-ups collect all over the place of Swan Lake and nourish the white birds with some popcorn and bread.

Seeing the mommy duck leading the pack of ducklings and the swans peacefully dabbling their way from corner to corner of the lake to grab a few bits of bread is a soft skill. The resonances of nature and greenery enhance the peacefulness.

Go–aish is a private theme park. The theme parks have various types of games such as quad biking, ropes course, indoor climbing, paintball, and mini-golf course, and however, nowadays is closed because of some reason. But then again, the government may open it again for the public.

Chair Lift is also another attraction offered by safari park. The chairlift gives the public a 10 minutes’ long ride. However, the Chair lift is not working owing to some cause; it may revive in the coming days.

Animals At Safari Park

People mainly come to safari parks is to see the animals. There is a whole different portion and segment for the wild animals spread over the massive area. There are so many animals at the safari park. The animals range from small to big, wild to calm, and more. The list of animals present in the safari park is below:

• wild pigeons
• mountain goats

And there are a lot of other animals that the visitors can see. The public can also see a lot of different and the wide variety of animals at Karachi zoo.

The public will straightaway fall in love with this park because of the outstanding facilities it is offering. The more time the people spend, they will start encouraging and appreciating the minute and details of the park as well. Safari park is the all-time favorite and memorable place for people. Every person must have visited this park once in their lifetime.

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E-Paper | November 04, 2024

Elephants vulnerable to injuries, diseases at safari park.

KARACHI: Concern over the well-being of elephants housed in the Safari Park is mounting three months after their herd partner Noor Jehan’s tragic death at the Karachi Zoological and Botanical Gardens.

According to sources, elephants Sonia and Malika — both African species aged between 16 and 18 years — have been kept in vulnerable conditions, posing potential danger to their well-being.

These threats, the sources say, had been highlighted in an assessment report prepared by the Task Force on the Zoo and Safari over two months ago, but didn’t lead to any action at the official level.

The task force, established by the provincial government following the death of 17-year-old Noor Jehan, had listed in its report a series of immediate actions required to be taken at the Safari Park, including provision of qualified veterinary care especially for the elephants.

The team had found Sonia with a ‘visible’ foot injury that, according to the report, seemed to have occurred due to the damaged concrete floor and persistent moist conditions in her enclosure.

Recommendations of task force on poor conditions inside enclosure yet to be implemented: sources

“It is imperative to thoroughly examine her health, particularly this wound, to determine if it is contaminated with bacterial or fungal infection. If left unaddressed, the wound has the potential to develop into a severer condition because the infection can spread rapidly and compromise her overall health. Therefore, it is crucial to identify any signs of infection and initiate appropriate treatment,” the report stated.

Earlier named Sonu, the 16-year-old female elephant was believed to be a male elephant by the Safari staff for 12 years prior to its examination in 2021 by Four Paws — a group of international experts working for animal welfare.

The experts were providing assistance in elephant care on the request of the Sindh High Court that had taken up a petition seeking shifting of zoo and Safari elephants to species-appropriate habitat.

Sonia develops ‘knee swelling’

A recent visit by this reporter to the facility revealed that Sonia seems to have developed swelling on the same left hind leg affected by a foot injury.

She appeared to be in pain while being in a standing position as she was unable to bear weight on the affected limb that she kept bent.

“Dr Aamir Ismail, currently providing veterinary services at both zoo and Safari, has told me that Sonia is absolutely fine. She hasn’t been diagnosed with any illness,” said Safari Park Director Syed Amjad Hussain Zaidi, while agreeing to seek consultation from an independent vet on Sonia’s knee lump. However, according to him, Malika is undergoing treatment for Trypanosomiasis, a potentially fatal parasitic infection that was detected in zoo elephant Noor Jehan after her death.

“Malika’s recent blood test report shows that she is now cleared of the infection and she will get her last dose of the medicine on 16th.”

Asked about the threats identified in the task force’s report, Mr Zaidi said: “I haven’t seen that report yet as I have taken charge of the Safari five days back.”

Report ignored

The report states that the damaged bars in the elephant enclosure could potentially harm animals’ bodies if they were to engage with them in rubbing or contact with them.

“The concrete floor of the enclosure was damaged in specific areas, including gravel and damp spots, which can cause damage to the animals’ feet and lead to infection and foot diseases.

“The uneven surface, coupled with the presence of sharp edges and moisture, increases the risk of abrasions, cuts and subsequent bacterial or fungal infections; drainage system in the enclosure seems inadequate as the water accumulates on the floor, creating a prolonged wet environment that can lead to the risk of various ailments and diseases by allowing the growth of harmful microorganisms, including bacteria and fungi,” it says.

Additionally, the report says, prolonged moisture can soften the skin on the elephants’ feet, making them more susceptible to injuries, abrasions and infections.

The task force team comprised representatives of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation running the city’s zoos and Safari Park, wildlife department, animal rights activists and the World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan.

It is pertinent to mention here that four female elephants — Sonia, Malika, Noor Jehan and Madhubala — were brought to Karachi from Tanzania in 2010 at a very young age through a controversial procedure.

Noor Jehan died in April this year after suffering for months on account of staff’s negligence.

Published in Dawn, August 11th, 2023

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The Most Soviet Park in Russia

By Charles Shaw – Published March 24, 2014

Charles Shaw

When you think of emblematic Soviet buildings, you don’t usually think of rabbits, but there they are, dancing and frolicking, even mating across the curved frieze of the Pavilion to Rabbit-Rearing and Fur Breeding, in a far corner of Moscow’s VDNKh park. The atrium itself is fenced off by a row of impossibly skinny columns whose capitals are neither Doric, Ionic, nor Corinthian, but defiantly Soviet. The grand portico is flanked by a pair of female statues clutching a pack of their furry friends against bas-relief seashell backdrops—a cross between Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus” and Our Lady of the Bunnies.

Like most of the park’s buildings, the pavilion celebrates innovation and achievement in a sector of the Soviet economy that all but disappeared with the fall of Communism. In the 1990s one could actually buy rabbits at the pavilion. But today the entrance plaque is barely legible, the door is locked, and the windows are opaque. Its legal status is a mystery and its façade crumbles more each year.

The Pavilion to Rabbit-rearing and Fur Breeding, which has seen better days. Charles Shaw

Neglect is just one of several outcomes for the pavilions in Russia’s most Soviet park. Others have been seized by capitalism in its most unrestrained forms: live shark shows, torture and sex museums, and a fur coat megastore with free shuttle service. And though the Ferris wheel, carnival games, kebab stands, busking rock bands, kitten saleswomen, motorcycle gangs, roller skaters, and forlorn ten-meter wheat sheath in the middle of a lake can be disorienting, one of the park’s main draws is the autonomy of wandering its 385 acres, many of which are forested and quiet.

Yet to understand modern Russia, where the Soviet legacy lingers uncomfortably on, there’s no better place to visit than VDNKh. According to Vladimir Putin, modern Russia can best be seen in the glassy athletic venues and infrastructure being built from scratch in Sochi, the host of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games. Blank slates are certainly easy for leaving marks—as Peter the Great did in the marshlands that became St. Petersburg—but they have more purchase on the future than the present. Other Soviet sites, like Lenin’s tomb, exemplify the struggle to refashion the past, but not that past’s unruly and sprawling presence, which VDNKh has in spades. Its mix of solitude and tackiness preserves a spirit of guileless accessibility, making it perhaps the only major site in modern Russia to embrace the Soviet past with pride rather than reservation. At VDNKh the Soviet era cannot simply be razed like so many redundant factories; it’s too beautiful and too beloved. It’s also massive—too indigestible to emerge sparkling and wifi-equipped on the other side of renovation, like Moscow’s Gorky Park, whose Soviet spirit has been practically erased in a seeming effort to reproduce London in Moscow. Like the Soviet past, VDNKh can be neither unified nor resolved.

After all, what can you do with a site that is both Ground Zero and Las Vegas?

The bull from the Meat Industry Pavilion looms over the Space Pavilion. Charles Shaw

Other Soviet symbols have been spared this uncertainty. The Moscow Metro and Stalin’s “Seven Sisters” towers are too functional to be interrogated for meaning; they’re simply a form of transport or the home of a government ministry. By contrast, because VDNKh is the most bricks-and-mortar monument to the Soviet past, it is also the most vulnerable. It houses its most obscure and emblematic buildings, dedicated to ideas, territories, and social groups that no longer exist, such as Friendship of the Peoples, the Uzbek SSR, and Young Naturalists and Scientists. In fact, some of the pavilions (such as Rabbit-Rearing or Peat) are almost mockingly irrelevant; their earnestness, not their agrarianness, being their most outdated and Soviet quality. Perhaps the barbarity of their destruction, the recklessness of the alterations, and the callous neglect can be explained by a sublimated revulsion against a historical mistake that was all the more tragic because it was self-induced.

There is no one narrative here; there are many individual ones. A full transformation of VDNKh would require cooperation and consensus about the Soviet legacy that don’t exist in modern Russia. Instead of one elephant in a room, it’s a cluster of about 80 massive stone, plaster and glass elephants, grazing in acres of asphalt and forest, each with their own post-Soviet afterlife.

VDNKh was the Soviet Union’s best version of itself.

Like the Moscow Metro with its marble, stained glass, and chandeliers, VDNKh is a glorious-yet-bounded space where the full promise of the Soviet dream could be realized. It is a reminder that utopias can only be built in finite spaces. Without lavish restoration and maintenance, they crumble.

In Russian, VDNKh is short for “exhibition of economic achievements,” or vystavka dostizhenii narodnykh khoziastva. This is the name that the park commonly goes by, even though in 1992 it was renamed VVTs, or “all-Russian exhibition center,” despite being born and raised from 1939 to 1959 as VSKhV, the “all-Union agricultural exhibition.” It was intended to celebrate ingenuity and effort among workers and kolkhozniki as well as to inspire them to further heights.

The Monument to the Conquerors of Space, which stands directly outside VDNKh. Charles Shaw

During the Soviet era, the promise of a yearly trip to Moscow’s VDNKh was another incentive for greater outputs. At VDNKh, the most productive sugar beet brigades from Ukraine would be invited to share their secrets. They might mingle with a pig iron team from Magnitogorsk, tobacco growers from Georgia, and sturgeon fishermen from the Caspian Sea. Or they could take a patriotic detour to learn of the achievements within the pavilions to the Arctic or Physical Culture. VDNKh reified the Soviets’ command economy into a cornucopia of fountains, columns, and promenades while affirming to Soviet laborers that in the worker-state they could be expert, hero, and king.

Here entire sectors of the economy had dedicated pavilions such as the Meat Industry, with its bull’s head columns, and Beekeeping, with its honeycomb-patterned entrance veil. And the great alliance between agriculture and industry was brought to life in the monumental sculpture Worker and Kolkhoz Woman , by Vera Mukhina, which was set just outside VDNKh’s triumphal entrance gates after returning from its 1937 debut at the Paris World’s Expo.

VDNKh also brought the entire multi-ethnic Soviet world to life, providing an ideologically unified analogue to the World’s Fairs. National republics, autonomous republics, and many Soviet regions were crystallized in architecture, ensuring that each one’s essence was legible all the way down to the door handles and stained glass—a sort of Soviet monumental Arts and Crafts . For instance, Azerbaijan’s pavilion featured a decidedly Islamic aiwan ; Karelia’s almost-Athenian pediment is a wood-carved scene of lumberjacks in a forest; and the Volga Region featured a massive frieze of a hydroelectric dam. While Mechanization Square was sanctified by a towering Stalin statue (where the Vostok rocket stands today), the spatial focal point is the gold-plated fountain, Friendship of the Peoples, with its ring of female figures: each of the fifteen republics dressed in her “national” costume being doused by jets of water from a giant bundle of wheat. The fountain and the pavilion of the same name instantiated the Soviet goal to integrate the Russian empire’s distant and diverse periphery. It demonstrated that although the Soviet Union was closed from the world, VDNKh contained a world of its own.

The fountain of the Friendship of the Peoples. Charles Shaw

And only in the workers’ state could pavilions be erected without irony to the most obscure corners of the economy, such as Dog-Rearing, Agroforestry, Poultry-Raising, Camels, Donkeys, Peat, Potatoes and Vegetables, Artificial Pollination, and Flax, Hemp, and Bast Fibers.

Other pavilions were downright Dionysian, like Beer, Vineyards and Wine-Making, Liqueurs, Tea and Sweets, Tobacco, Toys, and Ice Cream, which was built to look like a giant, melting scoop of vanilla with a preening seal in place of the cherry on top. There were also plenty of cafes, simple movie theaters, and an amphitheater. With apologies to Walt Disney, VDNKh in its prime must have been the Happiest Place on Earth. Its levity didn’t simply line corporate pockets nor merely brighten the faces of bourgeois children: it was proof that heaven was being built on earth.

Despite being curated entirely by the Soviet state, VDNKh’s pavilions were not immune to the bouts of destruction that beset World’s Fairs. The regime’s priorities changed and the economy evolved, which were reflected in the destruction, construction, and transformation of pavilions, making the park a palimpsest of Soviet priorities. After a wartime hiatus, VDNKh reopened grander than ever in 1954 with a Cold War focus on technology. Pavilions to Atomic Energy for Peaceful Purposes (1956), Medical Industry (1957), Geology, Gas, and Chemistry (1957), and Science (1957) emerged. As the Soviet economy grew more interwoven it became difficult to separate industrial processes and products into discrete buildings, making the pavilions more like separate-but-related themes in one Soviet industrial symphony, rather than a patchwork quilt.

The utopianism of the Khrushchev years is captured in a 1959 guidebook that praised the pavilions of Chemistry and the Chemical Industry with a tribute to polyethylene, a “miraculous material” that could replace metal and be used in hoses, films, unbreakable bottles, flasks, etc. Meanwhile, a strange figure guarding the Electrification pavilion epitomized the new era:

From a distance he seems to be a visitor from the Middle Ages, a knight clad in armor. But his armor is aluminum and underneath it he lacks a beating heart, while his veins do not flow with hot blood. His heart is mechanical and his blood is electronic. He is a robot.

The “aluminum knight” greeted visitors four times a day with a humble but hopeful greeting: “Right now I can’t do much, just turn around, walk, talk…I’m controlled by radio…We robots don’t fear work, nor heat, nor cold.” And visitors who did not speak Russian could pick up a nearby telephone receiver and listen to his message in French, English, or German.

Elektro, the humanoid robot created by Westinghouse Corporation for the 1939 New York City World’s Fair—the capitalist competitor of Khrushchev’s aluminum knight.

Yet VDNKh never forgot its agricultural core. The Corn pavilion had a six-meter cob tower in its vestibule and prompted a breathless ode to the “queen of the fields”:

She appears not only as a grain, doesn’t just transform into meat and milk. Processed corn appears in confectionary, canning, compound fats, textile, chemical, pharmaceutical, paper, construction and other industries. Looking at these exhibits we’re reminded that all sectors of the economy interact and complement one another.

Thus the metaphysics of corn demonstrated the growing complexity of the Soviet economy, its wager on high technology to produce the long-sought cornucopia, and the humble dignity of its agricultural base.

By the 1960s Khrushchev had declared the creation of a unified “Soviet people” that would soon live to see Communism. Differences in development and culture among the various Soviet republics were said to have disappeared, which meant the end of republican pavilions at VDNKh. And because Khrushchev launched a concurrent war on excessive ornamentation, the pavilions that weren’t destroyed—like Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan—were crudely repurposed by slapping up boards, dismantling carved friezes, or shearing off decorative entrances. Among the most freakish transformations, Kazakhstan and its elegant glass atrium became Metallurgy, a large black box. Azerbaijan become the archetypal VDNKh pavilion mullet, dropping its aiwan, adding an entrance feature meant to simulate a keyboard, retaining the “Islamic” ornament in the back, and becoming Computational Technology. Armenia became the Food Processing Industry and, in 1967, Health Care, its peaked red granite frame still in place, but its concentric archways covered with white boards. Today it is home to a mini-mall of discount drug stores.

Gentler reincarnations were in store for Uzbekistan, which retained its towering columned sun-shaped pergola and became Culture. Latvia became Physics. And the former Karelia, which had been housing Russian Culture, became the Pulp, Paper, and Resin Industry. Ukraine, one of the most stunning structures, and perhaps not coincidentally the homeland of Nikita Sergeievich himself, was simply relabeled Agriculture, exonerating the horses, sheep, and beehives that still adorn its walls.

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, VDNKh became a petri dish for crony capitalism, garish display, illicit activity, and neglect—in other words, Yeltsin’s Russia.

After initially being protected as a state-controlled entity, it was privatized in 1994, allowing waves of speculators to buy pavilions on the cheap and strip them of resources before reselling or turning them into warehouses for a vast weekend clothing and goods market. Successive investors jockeyed for control of the park, to charge rent and protection money, and for the rights to deploy its resources (including a branch of the Moscow police, a power station, and a customs point). The game was high-stakes, and VDNKh was the scene of several shootings between competing criminal gangs.

Post-1991 capitalism rears its furry head at VDNKh. Charles Shaw

Although the park became “re-publicized,” the legacy of the 1990s has proved difficult to erase. The first few to seize buildings in the 1990s have squatted, paying almost nothing in rent, and engaging in mysterious activities hidden behind sign-less entrances and foggy windows. Meanwhile, the landlord of a lovingly restored but under-visited grocery store recently complained that without paying exorbitant fees to several of VVTs’s daughter companies—the ones which actually collect the protection racket—he cannot advertise his store at the entrance next to the signs for the dolphins, sharks, and cats.

Illegal buildings sprouted like mushrooms in the 1990s. And though over 100 have been demolished, a robust new love for private property has made others sacrosanct, even though most are restaurants, bars, and even a bathhouse whose clapboard and vinyl exteriors were not meant to last. The most notorious of the new is a private mansion, nicknamed the “castle of VDNKh,” built on the small lakefront between the Fishery and Rabbit-rearing pavilions by Yakub Yakubov, an Azerbaijan-born businessman best known for owning famed Moscow businesses like the Praga restaurant and the Yeliseevskii department store, as well as various casinos when gambling was still legal in the city. It has a stunning array of arches, gables, turrets, and decks, and looks like a metastasized putt-putt obstacle. While certainly a garish mix of corruption and disdain for his fellow man, it would be a great pavilion to Privatization, to be preserved in situ as perfectly capturing the spirit of the age. Yakubov also seems to have built a home in the same style in Brooklyn.

As the mistakes of the 1990s are increasingly being “corrected” in Putin’s Russia, there is renewed talk of a grand renovation. However, a plan to intersperse luxury hotels and shopping between the pavilions has foundered due to cost and lack of consensus.

Until a comprehensive renewal plan emerges, VDNKh’s pavilions offer object lessons in different post-Soviet afterlives.

The spectacular, ruined outdoor Green Theater is being absorbed back into the earth a generation after it was built.

The irreplaceable Veterinary and Hunting and Fur pavilions have been lost to fire.

Naked Capitalism has become literal: the former pavilion to the North Caucasus (i.e. modern Chechnya), and later Education, could be renamed the Pavilion of Base Instincts, where fright, sex, alcohol, pain, nostalgia, and even cuteness are for sale at its haunted house and museums of Torture, Woman’s Delight, Drunkenness, Retro USSR, and a butterfly display.

Elsewhere there are two competing live shark habitats, one of which is housed in the former pavilion to Friendship of the Peoples.

Nostalgia for sale: Rooster on a Stick candy, the “taste of childhood,” in front of the former Pavilion to the Friendship of Peoples. Charles Shaw

Russian Retail can be found in just about every corner of the park. The troika of garden seeds, beekeeping equipment, and discount herbal medicine are sometimes perfectly wed to their spaces, like the daycare center and garden seed mall in the pavilion to Young Naturalists (which also features four haunting busts to child martyrs of World War II). But they are usually found in more incongruous settings, like the Space Pavilion.

Former Soviet republics that are dependent on Russia, such as Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, and Belarus, have opted for an Updated-Chamber-of-Commerce echo of VDNKh’s original purpose. They have funded expensive restorations in order to showcase their national wares, allowing visitors to sip Armenian cognac on comfy couches and eat beshbarmak at a Kyrgyz cafe, conveniently ignoring that today’s Armenian pavilion is the former Siberia, and that Krygyzstan was actually Estonia. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan’s oil-fueled independence and Ukraine’s flirtation with the EU are likely the reason why restoration plans for these pavilions have faltered.

Finally, there are the Labors of Love, where Soviet flames are tended by those with no desire to be paid. The Circular Movie Panorama, built after Khrushchev’s angst-producing trip to America, rotates the same seven 20-minute films in perpetuity, such as “Take us with you, tourists!” and “Volga – Russian river.” (For show times, visit http://krugorama.narod.ru )

On a recent summer afternoon a group of us visited The Republic of Song, one of the grandest monuments of them all. This museum to singer-songwriters, or bards, is only the latest identity for a pavilion that has worn many names, including Building Materials, Atomic Energy for Peaceful Purposes, Light Industry, and Defense of Nature. Its soaring central vestibule encased in opaque glass is barren of religious iconography, creating a sort of bland Soviet ceremonial space suited to each of its transformations. The entrance is adorned by bulbous mosaics that simulate Soviet banners and amphorae. And extending outwards from the glassy central tower are two boxy pale-blue wings whose intricate bas reliefs have long since been lost.

We opened the door and were greeted by a tan, silver-haired man in orange board shorts, a black leather biker’s vest, and a Harley bandana who jumped down from his cot in an anteroom.

The central hall was sunlit, drawing my eyes up the glass walls to the pastel-colored carved roof, inviting a religious form of contemplation. In one corner of the room was a bar bedecked with late-Soviet motorcycle banners, in another was a campsite diorama that one could find at a Boy Scout convention, and in another was a sparse “typical Soviet kitchen,” meant to simulate the gestation site of bard songs and dissident discussions. Looking back at the man’s cluttered nook, it was clear that he lived there.

He led us generously through the central hall, adorned with portraits of Soviet bards, with the most famous—Bulat Okudzhava and Vladimir Vysotsky—hidden modestly at the far end. Like many who work (or live) in VDNKh, he was either hazy or reluctant to part with the details. He couldn’t speak to any of the building’s previous incarnations and as to its acquisition he shrugged and smiled, saying that several years ago they had merely “gotten a good price on the rent.”

We continued the tour into a darkened concert hall while our guide struggled to explain the connection among Soviet bard music, motorcycling, and opposition politics—something about freedom of expression. He ushered us into the final, darkened gallery, like an old aunt in a house full of antiques, whose homespun quality was created by the old press clippings from concerts and the giant airbrushed portrait of Vysotsky that caught the faint light.

I expected to be asked for an admission fee when we left. Instead, he gave each of us a flyer to next week’s big event: a politically-inspired biker poetry open mic.

Our host was no Communist, but he, like many of VDNKh’s gatekeepers, had found a place in the park’s dark corners to keep a Soviet votive burning amidst pharmacies, furs, and dolphins.

**Charles Shaw** is Ph.D. candidate in history at the University of California, Berkeley.

Elsewhere in this issue…

Chapter 1: digging in the dirt.

• 1. Letter from the Editors: Digs
• 2. Trade Tales and Tiny Trails: Glass Beads in the Kalahari Desert
• 3. Mining the Languages of Empire in the Early Americas
• 4. De Re Metallica
• 5. Meerkats Without History: Digging for a Non-Human Past in the Kalahari Desert
• 6. A Much Too Distant Mirror: Against Animal Histories
• 7. When the Jazz Age Met the Pre-Columbian
• 9. EXCERPT: Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunderlizards: A Tale of Edward Drinker Cope, Othniel Charles Marsh, and the Gilded Age of Paleontology

Chapter 2: Digging in the Archives

• 1. Letters to the Editor: Digs
• 2. Haiti’s Declaration of Independence: Digging for Lost Documents in the Archives of the Atlantic World
• 3. Bandit Resurrections: Who Was the Real Sundance Kid?
• 4. Following a Migrant Route
• 5. Interviews with Young Historians
• 6. The Appendix Guide to Gertrude Bell in the Hauran
• 7. International Diplomacy (and Chocolate) in the Archives
• 8. Three Poems

Chapter 3: Nice Digs

• 1. “One of the Damnedest Trampling Matches You Ever Saw”: When Archaeologists Talk Trash
• 2. The Prison Palimpsest: A Former Tour Guide Looks Back at Eastern State Penitentiary
• 3. Losing Face
• 4. Historical Crushes: Annie Burlak
• 5. Hark, a Vagrant ’s Kate Beaton on Comics, History, and Drawing Admiral Nelson
• 6. “And Raising His Hand He Gave the Finger to Heaven”: Digs and Disses Throughout History
• 7. The Most Soviet Park in Russia
• 8. In King Tut’s Shadow