After years of public outcry, a better life awaits this unfortunate creature.
During the summer, OGN reported that this poor Elephant Wins Freedom, but it was only yesterday that this over-weight Asian bull elephant, called Kaavan, commenced his epic journey from the appalling conditions in a Pakistan zoo to a comfortable retirement sanctuary in Cambodia.
After years of public outcry and campaigning by the US singer and actor Cher, the “world’s loneliest elephant” is finally on the move. Cher has spent recent days at the Islamabad zoo to provide moral support to Kaavan - an overweight 36-year-old bull elephant - whose pitiful treatment at the dilapidated facility sparked an uproar from animal rights groups and a spirited social media campaign.
Kaavan’s case and the woeful conditions at the zoo resulted in a judge this year ordering all the animals to be moved.
“Thanks to Cher and also to local Pakistani activists, Kaavan’s fate made headlines around the globe and this contributed to the facilitation of his transfer,” said Martin Bauer, a spokesman for Four Paws International, an animal welfare group that spearheaded the relocation effort.
Experts spent hours coaxing a slightly sedated Kaavan into a specially constructed metal crate, at one point using ropes to help pull him in. This was hoisted on to a lorry and taken to Islamabad airport.
From there, Kaavan was to be sent via a Russian transport jumbo jet to Siem Reap in north-west Cambodia.
Kaavan not only had to live in sub-standard conditions at the Islamabad zoo but his description as the "world's loneliest elephant" came about when his mate, Saheli, who also originally came from Sri Lanka, died in 2012.
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