Islamabad Zoo to have an electric train in upcoming safari park

• Marghazar Zoo will have an electric train, says the government
• The Islamabad Zoo was closed last week after the last of its animals were sent abroad
• The government is now planning a safari park at the same location

ISLAMABAD: The government has planned to install an electric train at the Islamabad Zoo, previously Marghazar Zoo.

The Ministry of Climate Change is taking the initiative at the upcoming wildlife safari park at the zoo. The idea is to provide "quality entertainment" to visitors and attract tourists under which a pollution-free amusement park is being planned for families.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam said a wildlife conservation and information centre will be established to create public awareness about local flora and fauna.

Islamabad Zoo was established in 1978 on 10 hectares of land as a home for indigenous species.

Read more: 'Our heads should hang in shame': IHC slams climate change ministry for politicking over zoo animals

Authorities now plan to expand it as a wildlife conservation centre.

With little legislation to safeguard animal welfare, zoos across Pakistan are notorious for their poor conditions.

In 2018, some 30 animals died within months of a new zoo opening in the northwestern city of Peshawar, including three snow leopard cubs.

Islamabad Zoo closed after Himalayan bears Bubloo, Suzie flown to Jordan

Last week, the Islamabad Zoo, which drew widespread condemnation over the conditions in which the lone elephant Kaavan was kept, closed after the last of its animals were sent abroad.

Two Himalayan bears named Bubloo and Suzie were the last to leave the facility, almost three weeks after the country's only Asian elephant was flown to a wildlife sanctuary in Cambodia.

"The Islamabad zoo is now completely closed for both public and officials," Saleem Shaikh, a spokesman for the ministry of climate change told AFP.

"Both the bears will be flown to a sanctuary in Jordan."

Shaikh said the move was arranged with the help of Four Paws International — the same group that spearheaded the relocation of Kaavan whose plight championed by singer and Oscar-winning American actress Cher.

She flew to Pakistan to see the elephant's departure, and then to Cambodia to watch him arrive.

In pictures: Kaavan explores new home in Cambodia, makes contact with another elephant

The ailing health of Kaavan, an overweight, 35-year-old bull, highlighted the woeful state of Islamabad's zoo, where conditions were so bad that the Islamabad High Court in May ordered all animals to be moved.

Two lions died during their relocation when zookeepers attempted to pry them from their pen by setting ablaze piles of hay.

An ostrich also died in the move.