Kavan, the Asian male elephant who recently made the headlines on account of being the loneliest elephant of the world has finally found a home in Cambodia. He was greeted on his arrival in Cambodia on Monday (November 30) by chanting Buddhist monks and was then sent on his way to a wildlife sanctuary.
Legendary American singer Cher was instrumental in his relocation from Pakistan to Cambodia. Cher spent several days in the Pakistani capital to visit Kaavan before the trip to a 10,000-hectare (25,000-acre) Cambodian wildlife sanctuary, with Prime Minister Imran Khan personally thanking the 74-year-old star. “My wishes have finally come true”, Cher said in a statement thanking her charity Free The Wild.
Kavan, a 1985 gift from Sri Lanka to Pakistan, had been living in the Marghazar Zoo in Islamabad with his partner Saheli, who died in 2012. The zoo fell on hard times and conditions got so bad that a court in the Pakistani capital ordered the zoo closed in August.
The loss of his mate Saheli took a toll on Kaavan’s mental health. Elephants are social animals that thrive on the company of other elephants, and he would spend his days throwing his head from side to side, a stereotypical sign of boredom and misery in an elephant.