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Agence France-Presse

An elephant dubbed the “world’s loneliest” landed in Cambodia from Pakistan on Monday, receiving a warm welcome from American superstar Cher who will accompany it to a sanctuary housing potential mates.
The case of Kaavan – an overweight, 36-year-old bull elephant – sparked global uproar from animal rights groups, who petitioned for his move from an Islamabad zoo accused of substandard care and conditions.
His cause was boosted by a spirited social media campaign by Cher, who travelled to Pakistan to see him off.
Wearing a black face mask, the singer was on hand at Siem Reap airport and waved excitedly at the plane after it landed around 2.30pm (07:30 GMT).

“I am so proud he is here,” she said, after greeting Kaavan through an opening at the base of the crate.
“He’s going to be really happy here,” said Cher, adding that she is hopeful his ordeal is now over.
Kaavan’s much-anticipated journey was “uneventful”, said Amir Khali, a veterinary surgeon from animal welfare group Four Paws, adding he behaved “like a frequent flier”.
“Kaavan was eating, was not stressed – he was even a little bit sleeping, standing, leaning at the crate wall,” he said.
Once the sole Asian elephant in Pakistan, Kaavan will be transported from Siem Reap to neighbouring province Oddar Meanchey where a wildlife sanctuary with about 600 other elephants will be his new home.
“Cambodia is pleased to welcome Kaavan. No longer will he be ‘the world’s loneliest elephant,’” deputy environment minister Neth Pheaktra said.
“We expect to breed Kaavan with local elephants – this is an effort to conserve the genetic fold.”


Before he was transported to the sanctuary, monks offered him bananas and watermelon, chanting prayers and sprinkling holy water on his crate to bless him.
Kaavan’s journey is the culmination of years of campaigning from animal rights groups, who say the animal’s behaviour showed “a kind of mental illness” likely due to the zoo’s woeful conditions.
In May, a Pakistani judge ordered that all the animals at the zoo be moved.
Cher overjoyed as Pakistan agrees to free lonely elephant Kaavan
Upon hearing about Kaavan’s freedom, Cher had tweeted that the decision marked “one of the greatest moments” of her life.
A team of vets and experts from Austria-based Four Paws has spent months working with Kaavan to get him ready for the trip – a complicated process due to his size and the amount of food needed en route.

The elephant also had to be taught to enter the massive metal crate that was placed in a cargo plane for the seven-hour flight.
Four Paws, along with Islamabad authorities, also safely moved three wolves and some monkeys from the zoo. Currently only two Himalayan brown bears, one deer and one monkey remain.


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Cambodia

Cher greets Kaavan, the ‘world’s loneliest elephant’, as he lands in Cambodia

American singer and actor Cher is seen at Siem Reap International Airport in Cambodia to see the arrival of an elephant who previously spent 35 years at Islamabad Zoo in Pakistan. Photo: EPA-EFE

Cambodia's Deputy Minister of Environment Neth Pheaktra catches a glimpse of Kaavan the Asian elephant Kaavan after his arrival in Cambodia from Pakistan at Siem Reap International Airport in Siem Reap on November 30, 2020. (Photo by TANG CHHIN Sothy / AFP)

A shipping container holding Kaavan the elephant arrivals from Pakistan at the Siem Reap International Airport, Cambodia, Monday, Nov. 30, 2020. Kaavan, dubbed the "world's loneliest elephant" after languishing alone for years in a Pakistani zoo, has arrived in Cambodia where a sanctuary with the much-needed company of other elephants awaits him. (Pool Photo via AP)

Kaavan the ‘world’s loneliest elephant’ bound for happier new home in Cambodia

Kaavan has been living in misery for three decades at an Islamabad zoo. Photo: EPA-EFE

FILE - In this Sept. 4, 2020, file photo, Dr. Amir Khalil, a veterinary from the international animal welfare organization "Four Paws" comforts to an elephant named "Kaavan" during his examination at the Maragzar Zoo in Islamabad, Pakistan. Iconic singer and actress Cher was set to visit Pakistan on Friday, Nov. 27, 2020 to celebrate the departure of Kaavan, dubbed the “world’s loneliest elephant,” who will leave his Pakistani zoo for better conditions after years of lobbying by animal rights groups and activists. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed, File)

Amir Khalil, head of project development at FOUR PAWS International, feeds Kaavan, an elephant waiting to be transported to a sanctuary in Cambodia, during a crate training at the Marghazar Zoo in Islamabad, Pakistan November 12, 2020. REUTERS/Saiyna Bashir

Amir Khalil, head of project development at FOUR PAWS International, listens to a question from a journalist (not pictured) as Kaavan, an elephant waiting to be transported to a sanctuary in Cambodia, is seen in the background during a farewell ceremony at the Marghazar Zoo in Islamabad, Pakistan November 23, 2020. REUTERS/Saiyna Bashir

Kaavan has been living in misery for three decades at an Islamabad zoo. Photo: AP

Hero rat which detected landmines in Cambodia wins UK bravery award

Magawa, an African giant pouch rat, has been awarded a gold medal by UK animal welfare charity PDSA for helping detect deadly landmines in Cambodia. Photo: PDSA handout via dpa

An undated handout picture released by UK veterinary charity PDSA on September 25, 2020 shows Magawa, an African giant pouched rat who received a prestigious gold medal from PDSA for his work in detecting landmines in Siem Reap, Cambodia. (Photo by Handout / PDSA / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO /PDSA " - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

Cher overjoyed as Pakistan agrees to free lonely elephant Kaavan

Kaavan the elephant at the Marghazar Zoo in Islamabad in June 2016. Photo: AFP

Cher arrives for the Women's March on Washington on Independence Ave. on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017 in Washington. Thousands are massing on the National Mall for the Women's March, and they're gathering, too, in spots around the world. (AP Photo/Sait Serkan Gurbuz)

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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, left, with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen before their meeting in Phnom Penh in October, when the two countries signed a free-trade agreement. Photo: AP

FILE PHOTO: The Sihanoukville Autonomous Port is seen at the Sihanoukville, Cambodia September 28, 2017. REUTERS/Samrang Pring/File Photo

A man sits on his motorbike in front of the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, April 14, 2018. REUTERS/Samrang Pring

Cambodia’s PM Hun Sen criticises West’s ‘double standards’ after fresh sanctions

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Western states used human rights issues as a pretext for interfering in the internal affairs of other countries. Photo: EPA-EFE

News

Asia

Southeast Asia


The 36-year-old Asian elephant had been kept in substandard conditions at a zoo in Pakistan, and will now be moved to a Cambodian wildlife sanctuary
The US singer got involved in the high-profile campaign to have the bull elephant freed, and said he is going to be ‘really happy’



The US singer got involved in the high-profile campaign to have the bull elephant moved from substandard conditions at a zoo in Pakistan.


Pakistan

Animals

Fame and celebrity

Cher greets Kaavan, the ‘world’s loneliest elephant’, as he lands in Cambodia

The 36-year-old Asian elephant had been kept in substandard conditions at a zoo in Pakistan, and will now be moved to a Cambodian wildlife sanctuary The US singer got involved in the high-profile campaign to have the bull elephant freed, and said he is going to be ‘really happy’

The 36-year-old Asian elephant had been kept in substandard conditions at a zoo in Pakistan, and will now be moved to a Cambodian wildlife sanctuary

The US singer got involved in the high-profile campaign to have the bull elephant freed, and said he is going to be ‘really happy’