The Four Paws said on Tuesday that the Safari Park administration was apparently not at fault for the death of the elephant Sonia.

However, it said, the place where the female elephant was kept was not spacious enough for it.

Four Paws Mission Director Dr Amir Khalil, while speaking on Geo News’ programme “Geo Pakistan”, said Sonia had long been under the weather and the park administration as well as the Four Paws were aware of it.

“The elephant’s trunk had infection and its hind legs had swelling,” said Khalil, adding the tusker had been losing weight as well for a long time.

A long-time Safari Park resident, the elephant named Sonia faced a sudden death on the night of Decmeber 7.

The facility’s staff had found body of the female elephant lying lifeless in the enclosure where she was kept.

Previously named Sonu, the tusker was mistaken as a male by the Safari Park for 12 years until the examination by Four Paws in 2021.

She was captured from the wild in Tanzania when she was very young together with three other female elephants.

Now, with Sonia’s death, Safari Park has now been left with only two elephants: Malika and Madhubala.

Sonia’s death comes just a couple of weeks after the transfer of Madhubala, earlier housed at Karachi Zoo, to Safari Park.

It was done to provide more natural environment and companions to Madhubala after her long-time companion Noor Jahan died at the zoo last year.

After the death of Noor Jahan, the concerned animal experts advised shifting Madhubala to the Safari Park, where she would get the company of two animals.