Pakistan, Oct. 6 -- KARACHI - The Karachi Zoo has once again drawn intense criticism as reports surface of neglect and mistreatment of animals - this time centred on Rano, a female bear suffering from a serious head injury believed to have become infected due to inadequate care.

Animal welfare activists have condemned the zoo's handling of the case, calling it a violation of Pakistan's wildlife protection laws and a stark reminder of the chronic mismanagement plaguing the city's public zoo.

Rano, who has lived alone in a small enclosure since 2017, is said to have sustained the injury by repeatedly hitting the metal bars of her cage - a form of self-harm often associated with stress, trauma, and psychological deprivation in captive anim...