World’s loneliest elephant – ‘Kaavan’ finished his journey and reached Cambodia on Monday November 30th to start a new life in a local animal sanctuary.
The 36-year old elephant Kaavan is finally free and will begin a new life in a Cambodian sanctuary after living all of his life in captivity under miserable, deplorable conditions in Islamabad’s Marghazar zoo.
On Monday (today) Kaavan arrived in Cambodia after an overnight flight from Pakistan and was greeted by Cher – an American singer, actress, television personality who has actively advocated for Kaavan’s release over the years.
Kaavan’s life in Pakistan
Kaavan was gifted to Pakistan from Sri Lanka back in 1985. In Sri Lanka he was kept at Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage (PEO) and was ‘gifted’ to Pakistan during General Zia ul Haq’s regime.
As per details, Zain Zia – daughter of General Zia ul Haq, had wished for an elephant after watching a Bollywood move, and it was at her father’s behest that Kaavan arrived in Pakistan.
In Pakistan, Kaavan was subjected to severe neglect and was subjected to deplorable conditions, especially after his companion ‘Saheli’ – an elephant brought in from Bangladesh, died in 2012.
Since the death of his only companion Saheli, Kaavan suffered from continued stress due to loneliness – elephants are highly social animals and require stable social interaction with their own kind.
According to experts, Kaavan’s continuous ‘head bobbing’ was a sign of distress and other possible mental illnesses that he was suffering from.
He spent extensive part of his life in chains and was used as an ‘entertainer’ for the public that visited the zoo.
Kaavan was directed by his mahout/handler to raise his trunk as a ‘begging bowl’ to collect the money that public gave him.
Meanwhile, the 36-year old mammal suffered from lack of basic veterinary services and was only provisioned with a small half-acre enclosure with concrete floors, narrow walls and a make-shift roof.
Cher’s role and Kaavan’s journey to freedom
Cher – an American singer, actress, television personality and co-founder of Free the Wild charity, came across Kaavan back in 2016.
With 3.8 million followers on twitter alone, she actively advocated for Kaavan’s release and used her influence to secure Kaavan’s relocation to a sanctuary with proper facilities and essential amenities.
She led a successful campaign and filed a petition in Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking Kaavan’s release.
The IHC in its verdict had directed government to relocate Kaavan in-order for him to have a decent life as authorities in Pakistan had utterly failed to duly take care of the 36-year old elephant.
The Oscar-winning actress even met with Prime Minister Imran Khan on November 27th last week to discuss issues pertaining to Kaavan’s relocation.
On Sunday November 29th a day earlier, Kaavan – was sent via a Russian transport aircraft in a metal crate to Siem Reap in northwestern Cambodia. A 10-member medical team also accompanied him to provide necessary supervision.
What’s waiting for Kaavan in Cambodia?
In Cambodia, Kaavan will spent the rest of his days 10,000-hectare (25,000-acre) Cambodian wildlife sanctuary that already caters for 80 elephants.
The sanctuary provisions all essential material, medical and other facilities required by the largest walking mammal on the planet.
With much needed care, affection and company of his own kind, hopefully Kaavan will finally be able to live a much deserved healthy life in Cambodia.
