Fresh vegetables, fruit and meat being served to rescued monkeys, bears, leopard and lion
Chairperson of the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) Rina Saeed Khan invited the media persons, animal rescuers, friends of the Margalla Hills National Park (MHNP) and a large number of young climate activists to the screening of a documentary ‘Haven in the Hills: Islamabad’s Wildlife Ark’ that shows tremendous efforts being put in by the IWMB staff in rescue and rehabilitation of wild animals and birds.
The 12-minute film, produced by filmmaker Ali Ijaz, highlights the dedication of IWMB’s wildlife heroes in saving important species like common leopards and pangolins. The guests also had a guided tour of the facility, where they met the rescued animals, before watching the documentary in an outdoor setting.
Member of the IWMB, Vaqar Zakria, In Charge of IWMB Animals rescue centre, Sana Raja, Manager Operations Sakhawat Ali, animal rights activist Altamush Saeed, Director of Devcom-Pakistan Munir Ahmed, In Charge kitchen, Anila Umar and IWMB staff members were also present on the occasion.
Rina Saeed Khan praised Ali Ijaz, the wildlife filmmaker for making a documentary that gives a complete picture in 12 minutes of various rescue and rehabilitation activities that the IWMB has undertaken since the abolition of the Marghazar Zoo and establishment of Animal Rescue Centre in its place.
In the cages and enclaves that were lying empty after abolition of the zoo and shifting of the zoo animals, we are keeping the rescued bears, a female leopard, a male lion, kites, monkeys and porcupine, she said.
Giving details, she said there were currently 11 bears that were rescued from parts of Punjab where they were used for ‘dancing’ purposes and subjected to maltreatment.
The local poachers had removed their claws and teeth and put them in permanent fights due to which one of the bears has lost one eye, she said.
Likewise, the IWMBD had rescued two young leopards one from DHA Lahore and the other from the AJK. However, one of the two could not survive due to medical conditions but the female leopard Nilofar is in safe hands and good condition.
A male lion ‘Bahadur’ an elderly animal Bahadur rescued from Multan in very bad condition, is now spending the last leg of his life in the IWMB and is being taken care of, she said. besides there are 57 kites (injured from electricity wires, accidents or due to other factors), 28 monkeys at the Animals Rehabilitation Centre, and “I must commend the efforts of the In Charge of the centre Sana Raja who has been playing a vital role from the rescue to the rehabilitation,” said Rina Khan. All these animals and birds are now doing well and their food and health are being regularly monitored, she said, expressing gratitude to the In Charge of the Kitchen Anila Umar who visits Fruit and Vegetable Market daily and buys fresh fruit, vegetables, chakki atta (wheat flour) and fresh meat for the animals and makes sure they have their food on time and in plenty.
The IWMB plans to construct a sanctuary for bears in one part of the centre while the rest will be used as shelter for rescued animals, she said. International Animal Welfare Organization Four Paws on the request of the IWMB earlier this year in April had rushed to Islamabad to treat these maltreated bears, she said and paid rich tributes to the Director of the Four Paws, Dr Amir Khalil and his team for the prompt response. They have also offered support in construction of a sanctuary for bears on the land vacated by evacuation of animals. It is pertinent to mention here that last month Four Paws handed over a sanctuary for elephants at the Safari Park to the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) after shifting a female elephant from the Karachi Zoo to the Safari Park.
It may be noted here that the recently-passed Islamabad Nature Conservation and Wildlife Management Act 2023 prohibits the private ownership of wild animals in the Islamabad Capital Territory. The law also makes it illegal to injure, hunt, kill, or capture wild animals, or to use dogs for coursing or hawks for hunting.
