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After years of public protests and campaigning by American singer and actor Cher, the “world’s loneliest elephant” embarked on a massive transfer from Pakistan on Sunday to retreat to a Cambodian shrine.
Cher spent the last few days at the Islamabad Zoo to provide moral support to Kaavan, an overweight 36-year-old bull elephant, whose pitiful treatment in the dilapidated facility sparked an uproar from animal rights groups and a vigorous campaign in social networks.
“My wishes have finally come true,” Cher said in a statement thanking her Free The Wild charity.
“We have been counting backwards until now and dreaming about him for so long and finally seeing Kaavan transported out of [the Islamabad] The zoo will stay with us forever. “
The Kaavan case and the dire conditions at the zoo resulted in a judge this year ordering all the animals to be moved.
“Thanks to Cher and also local Pakistani activists, Kaavan’s fate made headlines around the world and this helped facilitate his move,” said Martin Bauer, spokesman for Four Paws International, an animal welfare group that spearheaded the effort. of relocation.
Experts spent hours coaxing a lightly sedated Kaavan into a specially constructed metal box, at one point using ropes to help pull it. This was loaded onto a truck and taken to the Islamabad airport.
From there, Kaavan would be sent via a Russian jumbo jet to Siem Reap in northwestern Cambodia.
Cher, 74, spent several days in the Pakistani capital to visit Kaavan before the trip to a 10,000-hectare (25,000-acre) Cambodian wildlife sanctuary, with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan thanking him personally.
He was scheduled to fly to Cambodia on Sunday to be in the Southeast Asian nation when the elephant arrives.
Authorities said Kaavan would initially be kept in a small designated section of the park where he could see other elephants.
“Sending him to a place where he can be with other elephants of his kind … is really the right choice,” Pakistani climate change minister Malik Amin Aslam told AFP.
“We will be happy to see him happy in Cambodia and we hope that he will find a match very soon.”
Dubbed by the press as the loneliest elephant in the world, Kaavan was the only Asian elephant in Pakistan.
A team of veterinarians and experts from Four Paws spent months working with Kaavan to prepare him for the trip to Cambodia, which included training the elephant to enter the huge metal transport box that would be placed on a cargo plane for the flight of seven. hours. .
In the past, zoo officials have denied that Kaavan was kept in poor condition or chained, claiming instead that the creature was pining for a new mate after his mate’s death.
But Kaavan’s demeanor, including signs of distress such as continual head movements, raised concerns for his mental well-being.
The activists also said that Kaavan was not adequately protected from the scorching summer temperatures of Islamabad.
Kaavan’s partner Saheli, who also arrived from Sri Lanka, died in 2012.
Human rights and conservation groups have said the dire conditions at the Islamabad Zoo were partly due to a lack of legislation in Pakistan aimed at protecting animal welfare.
“There are many improvements to be made,” said Rab Nawaz of the World Wildlife Federation in Pakistan.
“Kaavan is just an animal. There are many animals in Pakistan … that are in miserable conditions. “
