November 23, 20206:35 PM Updated 3 hours ago
Pakistan's lonely elephant serenaded one last time at farewell party
By Reuters Staff
2 Min Read

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Officials and well-wishers gathered at Islamabad Zoo on Monday for a farewell party for Pakistan’s lonely elephant Kaavan before he sets off for a new life in Cambodia this week.

After years of campaigning by animal rights advocates and pop star Cher to rescue him from grim conditions with no companion, Kaavan was finally set to be airlifted to an elephant sanctuary on Sunday.

To mark the occasion, officials, including lawmakers and Pakistan’s climate change minister, gathered among balloons and signs saying “Farewell Kaavan, we will miss you”.

Children posed for photos and musicians performed in front of the enclosure, with Kaavan at one point serenaded while he snacked on some grass.

Kaavan is known to be a fan of music and Amir Khalil, a vet from animal rescue organisation Four Paws, bonded with the elephant, who has been aggressive to humans in the past, by singing him Frank Sinatra songs.

Four Paws spokeswoman Marion Lombard said that though it was never easy to move a wild animal weighing 4.8 tonnes, Kaavan was responding well to training and was ready to leave.

“We decided to organise an event to give the opportunity to the people of Pakistan and the government to say goodbye to Kaavan, before his new life in Cambodia. So we want to wish him a happy retirement,” she said.

Kaavan will be airlifted to Cambodia after training for weeks with international specialists armed with treats such as bananas to get him used to the small enclosure and loud noises of the 10-hour flight.

Cher was due to arrive in Islamabad later in the week to finally meet the elephant she had worked for years to rescue and see him off.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-paki ... G7?rpc=401&

Cher on her way to Pakistan to help save world's loneliest elephant
Kaavan has spent 35 years alone in a zoo, but he is now packing up his trunk and moving to a sanctuary in Cambodia.
By Tania Snuggs, news reporter
Friday 27 November 2020 15:30, UK

Cher

Singer and actress Cher is on her way to Pakistan to help save the "world's loneliest elephant".

Kaavan has spent 35 years in a zoo.

He lost his partner in 2012, has become obese due to a poor diet and suffers with behavioural issues, shaking his head back and forth for hours.

But now he is packing up his trunk in Pakistan where Cher, 74, will meet him, before being relocated to a sanctuary in Cambodia on Sunday.

The battle to have him relocated began in 2016, but after the pop superstar got involved in his campaign, he is finally breaking free from captivity.

Ingo Schmidinger, one of the experts who is helping with the move, has told Sky News that Kaavan "needs to be with other elephants".

He said: "You can definitely compare his behaviour to human behaviour. I mean what would we do without other human conspecifics, so he is completely lost alone.
- Sky News

Hang tight - your new and better world is just around the corner, Kaavan

Jumbo jet for Jumbo.

'World's loneliest elephant' heads to Cambodia after Cher campaign
Agence France-Presse
Last modified on Sun 29 Nov 2020 15.55 GMT
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.

“My wishes have finally come true”, Cher said in a statement thanking her charity, Free the Wild.

“We have been counting down to this moment and dreaming of it for so long and to finally see Kaavan transported out of [the Islamabad] zoo will remain with us forever.”

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 on Sunday.

From there, Kaavan was to be sent via a Russian transport jumbo jet to Siem Reap in north-west Cambodia.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/ ... r-campaign

It should be a bit more like this
but i guess it's a start


(ps, today is the day, he is probably at 30,000 feet right now)

CEOCambodiaNews wrote: ↑Mon Nov 30, 2020 1:23 am Jumbo jet for Jumbo.

'World's loneliest elephant' heads to Cambodia after Cher campaign
Agence France-Presse
Last modified on Sun 29 Nov 2020 15.55 GMT
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.

“My wishes have finally come true”, Cher said in a statement thanking her charity, Free the Wild.

“We have been counting down to this moment and dreaming of it for so long and to finally see Kaavan transported out of [the Islamabad] zoo will remain with us forever.”

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 on Sunday.

From there, Kaavan was to be sent via a Russian transport jumbo jet to Siem Reap in north-west Cambodia.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/ ... r-campaign

And from that articles...

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

I wonder if she is aware of the quarantine rules? I doubt anyone is getting a pass at the moment.

What a performance.

Kaavan Arrives in Cambodia
AKP Phnom Penh, November 30, 2020 --

Kaavan, a male elephant, arrived this afternoon in Siem Reap province of Cambodia after hours on a plane from Pakistan.

“Cambodia gave new habitat, new life and new hope to this loneliest elephant,” said H.E. Neth Pheaktra, Secretary of State and Spokesperson for the Ministry of Environment, who presided over the welcoming ceremony held at Siem Reap International Airport.

According to a statement released by the Ministry of Environment, Kaavan’s new home in Cambodia is Kulen Prom Tep Wildlife Sanctuary, in Oddar Meanchey province in the northern section of the country. It is one of 68 protected areas and corridors in the Kingdom. Cambodia is moderately rich in biological diversity and levels of endemism. Cambodia is home for some world’s rare species.

“Kaavan is one of an endangered breed of Asian elephants that exists in Cambodia. Pachyderms can live for many years and even at 36, we hope that he will contribute to the gene pool,” it said.

Once Kaavan feels at home in a controlled setting, he will be released in the wildlife sanctuary, where some 600 Asian elephants live in peace and tranquility, it added.
- AKP

"600 in the sanctuary" ^^
maybe there are about 600 elephants in the whole country, but probably not.

But anyway, apparently our stud gets a prearranged start to his hareem with a specially selected, interviewed and approved 3 local beauties.
- for his exclusive pleasuring.

'Landed on your feet, Lad