Thanks to Cher: ‘World’s loneliest elephant’ rescued after successful campaign

Dubbed the “world’s loneliest elephant”, Kaavan – a 35-year-old bull elephant – is all set to embark on a sever-hour-journey from the Islamabad Zoo in Pakistan to a 10,000-acre wildlife sanctuary in Cambodia. After years of public uproar from animal rights groups at the pitiful conditions in which the pachyderm was housed and subsequent social media campaigning by American pop star Cher, a judge this year ordered all animals in the ramshackle facility 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 has spearheaded the relocation effort, reported AFP.

Cher “has quite a big platform so we have really appreciated what she has done for Kaavan since 2016.”

Prime Minister Imran Khan personally thanked the 74-year-old Oscar winning actress as she arrived in the capital to see the elephant before its journey.

Zoo officials have denied Kaavan was kept in substandard conditions or chained, claiming instead the creature was pining for a new mate after his partner died in 2012.

According to several rights groups and conservationists, the abysmal conditions at the Islamabad zoo resulted in part from the lack of legislation in Pakistan aimed at protecting animal welfare, reported AFP.