Islamabad, Pakistan – From the outside one might assume that the old premises of the Marghazar Zoo are now deserted. A dilapidated ticket office and overgrown foliage suggest an absence of visitors. But listen closely and you can hear the chatter of monkeys, the growl of bears and even the roar of a tiger.
The Islamabad High Court ordered the closure of Marghazar Zoo in 2020, following local and global protests against its treatment of animals. After relocating the animals, the Islamabad High Court ordered that the zoo premises be entrusted to the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB), a government body tasked with preserving the wildlife of Islamabad and the neighboring Park. Margalla Hills National.
Pakistan is a country with rich biodiversity, home to several endangered species threatened by illegal hunting, poaching and habitat loss. Faced with daily reports of injured and trafficked wildlife, the IWMB gradually began using the former zoo facility as a rehabilitation center for rescued animals, in collaboration with local animal rights activists and the nonprofit conservation organization Second. Chance Wildlife.
Since 2020, Margalla Wildlife Rescue Center has rescued more than 380 animals, including rhesus monkeys, Asiatic black bears, Indian pangolins, several species of birds and a three-month-old Bengal tiger. In addition to receiving reports of injured animals, the center conducts raids to rescue animals when they learn of criminal activity.
Some of these animals were rescued from poachers. Others, like bears, had been used as entertainment, forced to “dance” or fight for entertainment.
Baboo, the young tiger, was in critical condition when he was rescued. “When we found him, he was so weak that he couldn't walk,” says IWMB ranger Anees Hussain. Early separation from his mother had caused malnutrition and multiple bone fractures.
For 14 months after his rescue, a small team of staff and volunteers at the center nursed Baboo back to health. “At first, we were not sure if he would survive,” said Dr. Usman Khan, one of the veterinary consultants caring for the young tiger. “It is thanks to the daily care and treatment that he received [at the centre] “He made a full recovery.”
However, as Baboo grew, it became increasingly clear that he needed more space and the company of other tigers, something the center could not offer him. On February 14, after a long administrative and fundraising process, Baboo was successfully relocated to the Isindile Big Cat and Predator Sanctuary in South Africa.
The IWMB plans to establish a sanctuary that can permanently house animals that cannot be released into the wild. However, the survival of the center is not without obstacles. Fundraising is a constant challenge as the center relies heavily on donations from civil society to cover the increasing cost of maintaining the facilities and caring for the animals. “We are currently operating on a week-to-week subsistence budget,” said Leah Boyer, co-founder of Second Chance Wildlife.
Not everyone supports the center's mission. The Capital Development Authority, a civic authority responsible for providing municipal services and which previously managed the zoo, has repeatedly attempted to reclaim the premises and parts of the Margalla Hills National Park to reopen the old zoo. However, it did not challenge the High Court ruling and is unlikely to succeed, according to the IWMB.
“We just don't understand why we should turn back and reopen another zoo in Islamabad,” says Rina Saeed Khan, president of the IWMB. “[We] “We emphasize care over cruelty and our goal is to try to save as many of Pakistan’s threatened and vulnerable wildlife species as possible.”
The team hopes to continue building the center's capacity to rehabilitate wildlife, including big cats. Leopards, for example, are indigenous to the area and incidents of conflict between humans and leopards are not uncommon.
Just days after Baboo's relocation, staff are preparing his old enclosure for two new arrivals.
Two leopard cubs, Sultan and Neelu, watch with wide eyes as Hussain gently lifts them from the carrier in which they were brought.
“Her mother just died,” he says, stroking the thick fur on Neelu's neck. “I think they will stay with us for some time.”
