Cher Helps Free Isolated Elephant Restrained For 26 Years In Zoo

Jun 03, 2020 by apost team

Kaavan, a 35-year-old Asian elephant originally from Sri Lanka will now be moved from the Murghazar Zoo in Islamabad, Pakistan to a sanctuary after many calls from people and celebrities to free the animal from its lonely zoo life.

Without any fellow elephants to play with, Kaavan caught the attention of Cher, and when his freedom was announced by Pakistani officials on Thursday, May 21st, Cher took to Twitter to express her tears of joy through emojis and an all-caps emotional tweet.

In recent years, Cher has been one of the fiercest advocates for Kaavan. Kaavan first came to Cher's attention about four-years-ago. Kaavan the elephant was originally gifted to the Murghazar Zoo in Islamabad, Pakistan by former Sri Lankan general Zia-ul-Haq, but after his mate, Saheli, died in 2012, he quickly became dubbed as one of the loneliest elephants in the world, with no companions. 

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Cher was touched by the plight of this elephant. She could see that his living space was too small. She was troubled by the chains and the dirty-looking pond where he was supposed to play. 

Cher partnered with Free the Wild, an animal rights organization, in order to boost the campaign for Kaavan's release from the Islamabad zoo. The influence of the two paired together to help win Kaavan his freedom after living many years alone, and even in chains at some points in time. 

In May of 2020, she finally heard the news that her objective had been reached. The high court in Islamabad had decided the case in Kaavan's favor; he would be re-homed to a sanctuary with the help of the High Commissioner from Kaavan's native country of Sri Lanka. Finally, 35-year old Kaavan will have other elephants to befriend.

Though it took four years to secure Kaavan's release, she never forgot about him and tweeted several tweets to show her gratitude to the Pakistani government for his freedom from the zoo and relocation to a sanctuary that will be decided before June 21st between Pakistani and Sri Lankan officials. 

Did you follow the story of Kaavan the elephant? Will you be following him now? Let us know your thoughts and be sure to pass this on to elephant lovers so they can hear of the good news!