Kaavan, an obese elephant mistreated for years in a Pakistani zoo, will soon be transferred to a reserve in Cambodia.

-

Anjum Naveed / AP / SIPA

After years of abuse, Kaavan will leave Pakistan.

Donated to the country by Sri Lanka in 1985, the obese and sick elephant will leave the Islamabad zoo for better regions.

In May, the courts ordered the transfer of some of the animals from this zoo, victims of abuse.

In July, two lions died, probably from stress, when they were taken out of their tight cage.

Ostriches died in the same circumstances.

A bear, stricken with a tumor, has been spinning around for years in her tiny enclosure.

#SupportPakistaniAnimals: #Kaavan, the loneliest elephant in the world 🐘


We were asked to perform a medical examination to see whether he is fit enough for transport.

Please find the results here: https://t.co/AS4MfrTSdI #IslamabadZoo pic.twitter.com/HecsHWhIP9

- FOUR PAWS (@fourpawsint) September 5, 2020

Sugar-fed and deprived of "intellectual stimuli"

Kaavan's salvation came from a California veterinarian, Samar Khan, who was horrified by his condition after visiting the zoo a few years ago.

The singer Cher then seized the cause of the elephant.

Finally, this Friday, a team of international experts, armed with tranquilizer darts, inspected the animal.

A team of international vets conduct a medical examination on Pakistan's only 35-year-old and overweight Asian elephant called Kaavan whose fate has sparked international condemnation, is scheduled to take him to #Cambodia 🇰🇭


v @ AFP pic.twitter.com/YhN8LbuZmG

- AsiaNews (@AsiaNews_FR) September 5, 2020

"He is in good general condition [...] but he is totally obese," said the chief veterinarian, who works for the NGO Four Paws International.

For years, the pachyderm has been fed 200 kg of sugarcane per day and has been completely deprived of intellectual stimuli.

A transport crate must now be built to transport Kaavan by cargo plane to his future home, a wildlife reserve in Cambodia.

In Pakistan, zoos are notorious for poor facilities and poor animal care.

In 2018, thirty animals perished in the brand new Peshawar park, including three rare baby snow leopards.

In February, the body of a teenager was found in the lion enclosure at a wildlife park in Lahore.

World

Indian elephant killed after eating fruit filled with firecrackers

Planet

Zimbabwe: 12 elephants found dead had ingested bacteria

  • Animals

  • Planet

  • Zoo

  • Abuse

  • Pakistan

  • elephant