Claim: Noor Jehan, the elephant who died at the Karachi Zoo, had broken legs, according to a post-mortem report being quoted by different outlets.
Fact: The global animal welfare organisation Four Paws has said that the elephant’s post-mortem report has not been made public yet.
Fact or Fiction?
On 1 May 2023, ARY News reported that 17-year-old deceased elephant Noor Jehan’s post-mortem report had revealed that the elephant’s legs were broken.
Other websites and social media users then picked up the claim.
Soch Fact Check found the claim to be misleading. Four Paws clarified on 3 May 2023 via a tweet that Noor Jehan’s post-mortem results and the official report are not available yet.
They also said that “statements about Noor Jehan having broken legs are pure speculation” and urged people to refrain from spreading misinformation.
The organisation said that Four Paws will inform people about the autopsy results as soon as the final report is released, which is expected to take one to two weeks.
Recently false news about Noor Jehan's autopsy were spread via different media channels. The post-mortem results and the official report are not yet available and are expected to be received within the next 1 – 2 weeks.
All pictures: © FOUR PAWS | Hristo Vladev pic.twitter.com/463NNSTyN2
— FOUR PAWS International (@fourpawsint) May 3, 2023
Owais Awan, a legal consultant at Four Paws International, told Soch Fact Check that media reports about Noor Jehan’s post-mortem report are mere speculation.
“Only initial report has been made by Prof Ghulam Mustafa but only himself and VC of UVAS [University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore] have access to it at the moment. And Four Paws has formulated their own report as well,” he said.
Awan shared that the elephant’s post-mortem or necropsy was performed on 23 April 2023 from 1 pm to 7 pm hours roughly.
The critically ill 17-year-old Noor Jehan died on 22 April 2023 at Karachi Zoo. The African elephant was unable to get up without help after falling into a pond earlier in April.
Prior to this, the ailing elephant underwent a successful surgery by a team of foreign doctors from Four Paws.
Virality:
The claim was posted by Startup Pakistan, Pakistan Observer, BNN Breaking and Daily Nation Pakistan on their website.
It was found here, here, here, here and here on Twitter.
On Facebook, it was shared by MangoBaaz, Startup Pakistan, Parhlo and Pakistani Journal and others such as here and here.
Conclusion: Noor Jehan’s post-mortem report has not been released. According to Four Paws, claims about her broken legs are pure speculation.