ISLAMABAD: The “world’s loneliest elephant” which for decades lived in woeful conditions at a Pakistani zoo, has started settling into his new life at a Cambodian sanctuary.
A video released on Wednesday by animal welfare organization Four Paws International, showed Kaavan eating, throwing sand on himself and flipping tires at his new home, where he also found a companion after eight years of not seeing another elephant..
Kaavan arrived in Cambodia on Monday, following a campaign by animal rights groups and American pop star Cher, who last week came to Islamabad to provide moral support to the 36-year-old bull elephant and later went to Cambodia to welcome him at his new home in Kulen Prom Tep Wildlife Sanctuary.
Workers gather as a crate carrying Kaavan boards a plane at the Islamabad International Airport in Islamabad, Pakistan November 30, 2020. (REUTERS)
“My wishes have finally come true,” Cher said in a statement on Sunday, when Kaavan embarked on his journey.
“We have been counting down to this moment and dreaming of it for so long and to finally see Kaavan transported out of (the Islamabad) zoo will remain with us forever.”
Kaavan has languished in the Islamabad zoo for 35 years, and lost his partner in 2012. He was diagnosed by veterinarians as both overweight and malnourished earlier this year, and also suffered behavioral issues.
The battle for his relocation began in 2016.
Conditions in which the elephant lived were so bad that in May, a judge ruled that all animals should be relocated from the zoo. Kaavan was one of the last zoo inhabitants to leave.
Four Paws, which often carries out animal rescue missions, has provided the medical treatment needed before the journey.
Helpers packed Kaavan’s trunk with 200 kilograms of food to snack on during the seven-hour flight aboard a jumbo Russian cargo plane. A tube system was installed in his transport crate to handle up to 200 liters of urine.
Once Kaavan has adjusted to a controlled setting in his new enclosure, he is going to be released into the wider sanctuary, where he is expected to breed with local elephants.
