Rano, a brown bear from the Karachi Zoo, starts a new life in Islamabad.

Rano, a 24-year-old female brown bear from Karachi Zoo, has finally started her path to freedom after years of confinement.

The first step in Rano’s rehabilitation was taken on Wednesday morning when she was moved to Islamabad under the observation of experts, per the directives of the Sindh High Court.

Rano was housed in a special wooden crate at Karachi’s Faisal Base prior to her departure, where her health, nutrition, and behaviour were closely observed. Amazingly, she responded to her carers’ summons and quietly and unsedatedly entered the box.

A Pakistan Air Force C-130 plane carrying her from Karachi to Islamabad took off at 8:30 a.m. and touched down at Nur Khan Airbase at approximately 11:30 a.m. Javed Ahmed Mahar, a Sindh Wildlife Conservator, said that the crew kept an eye on Rano during the journey and that she even slept soundly in spite of the aircraft’s roar.

After being safely offloaded by technical workers upon arrival, she was sent to the bear rehabilitation facility run by the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board.

In the following stage, Rano will be relocated from the sterile cage at Karachi Zoo to the Balkasar sanctuary in Gilgit-Baltistan, a natural haven that offers her a second chance at life.