Kaavan-- the world lonelinest elephant

 Aljazeera, Nov. 30, 2020:Kaavan’s not-so lonely journey to freedom in Cambodia

An eight-year struggle for the freedom of a majestic five-tonne Asian elephant finally came to an end as a transport plane flew out Pakistan and into Cambodia to drop him off on Monday.

American singer Cher – a longtime advocate for Kaavan’s freedom – was on the tarmac at the airport of Cambodian city Siem Reap to greet the elephant and meet the vets who accompanied him on his long journey in a custom-made crate, with more than 200kg (440 pounds) of food to keep him busy.

Animal rescue organisation Four Paws, based in Vienna, said 36-year-old Kaavan – who spent most of his life at an Islamabad Zoo without a companion – would be released from his crate in daylight on Tuesday at a sanctuary with 600 fellow pachyderms.

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BBC, Nov. 30, 2020:'World's loneliest elephant' arrives for new life in Cambodia

An overweight elephant, once dubbed the world's loneliest, has arrived in Cambodia after being rescued from a life of misery in a Pakistani zoo.

Among those who welcomed Kaavan was the pop star Cher, who paid for a legal team to fight for his release.

Kaavan spent 35 years in a barren, substandard zoo enclosure, living in isolation after his mate died in 2012.

In Cambodia he will live in a wildlife sanctuary and roam in open space with a large herd of other elephants.

"I'm so happy and I am so proud he is here," Cher told AFP news agency at Siem Reap airport in the north of the country. "He's a wonderful, wonderful animal."

While many travellers around the world are grounded by the coronavirus pandemic, Kaavan behaved "like a frequent flyer" on the journey from Pakistan, according to Dr Amir Khalil, a vet from the animal welfare group Four Paws International (FPI).

 In full: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-55132839

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The Guardian, Nov. 29, 2020:'World's loneliest elephant' heads to Cambodia after Cher campaign

After years of public outcry and campaigning by the US singer and actor Cher, the “world’s loneliest elephant” has embarked on a mammoth move from Pakistan to retirement in a Cambodian sanctuary.

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.(...)

She was due to fly to Cambodia on Sunday to be in the south-east Asian nation when the elephant arrives.

Officials 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,” Pakistan’s climate change minister, Malik Amin Aslam, told AFP.

In full: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/29/worlds-loneliest-elephant-kaavan-heads-to-cambodia-after-cher-campaign

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Four Paws International, Nov. 30, 2020:From the loneliest to the luckiest elephant: Kaavan takes off for Cambodia

For the first time FOUR PAWS moves an elephant by air

30th November 2020 – A Russian cargo plane, a four-tonne transport crate able to hold 200 litres of urine and a negative Covid-19 test for a wild animal: these are just some of the things global animal welfare organisation FOUR PAWS had to organise for the departure of the world's loneliest elephant. After months of preparation and more than 35 years of captivity, elephant Kaavan has started his journey from Marghazar Zoo in Islamabad to the Cambodia Wildlife Sanctuary in Siem Reap on 30th November. There Kaavan will live a species-appropriate life with other elephants. The historic wildlife transfer is implemented by FOUR PAWS in cooperation with the Pakistani authorities, American businessman Eric S. Margolis and the NGO Free The Wild, co-funded by Cher. Kaavan, together with the FOUR PAWS team, is expected to land in Siem Reap in the afternoon of 30th November. The release to his new enclosure is planned for 1st December.

For FOUR PAWS, the rescue of Kaavan was their first elephant transfer by air. Worldwide, only a handful of adult elephants have been relocated by plane. To prepare 36-year-old Kaavan for his departure, the FOUR PAWS team, consisting of veterinarians and elephant experts, spent about three months in Pakistan's capital Islamabad. Three times a day, the team practised with Kaavan the safe and stress-free entry and exit into and from the transport crate, which weighs around four tonnes.

In full: https://www.four-paws.org/our-stories/press-releases/from-the-loneliest-to-the-luckiest-elephant-kaavan-takes-off-for-cambodia

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