Lonely elephant Kaavan leaves Pakistan for new life in Cambodia
A lonely elephant whose poor living conditions triggered a global outcry is leaving Pakistan on Sunday.
The 35-year-old elephant named Kaavan will be flying out of Pakistan on a special cargo plane to a wildlife sanctuary in Cambodia where authorities have already made arrangements at his new home.
“We are sad to see Kaavan go but happy that he is going to retire after entertaining the people of Islamabad for years,” Malik Amin Aslam, the prime minister’s special assistant on climate change, told the media at the zoo.
“We say sorry that we could not take care of him well and goodbye to Kavaan,” said Senator Fasial Javed, who came to bid farewell to the lonely elephant.
“Today is an emotional day for all of us,” said veterinarian Amir Khalil.
“What you Paksitanis have done here is a lesson to many nations to also release elephants to a better place,” he said after spending several weeks with Kaavan and training him for travel in a custom-made box.
Animal rights activists and civil society representa
tives were present at the zoo to bid Kaavan farewell and waited for hours to see the box being lifted by a crane from his small enclosure.
A plane carrying Kaavan is scheduled to take off from Islamabad in the early hours of Monday.
Oscar-winning US singer and actor Cher, who campaigned for years for Kaavan’s freedom, also visited Pakistan on Friday to witness the occasion. She is financing half of the cost of his journey.
The Cambodian sanctuary was chosen as it already houses more than 80 elephants and is equipped with experts and other related facilities.
Kaavan had been living
in poor conditions, often in chains, in a small enclosure at Marghazar oo in Islamabad for more than three decades.
His mate, Saheli, died in 2012, allegedly due to negligence and poor treatment by the zoo administration. Animal rights activists fought a long battle for his freedom and in May a court in the capital ordered authorities to free and find a sanctuary for the distressed animal.
In September, vets from Four Paws, a Vienna-based body, evaluated Kaavan’s physical and emotional health to see if he was fit for air travel and stable enough for a new life with other elephants.