Zubair Qureshi
The iconic pop star of the United States, Cher arrived at Marghazar Zoo of Islamabad on Saturday to sing songs to her ‘baby’ Kaavan, Pakistan’s lone Asiatic elephant and to review arrangements for his relocation to Cambodia’s sanctuary scheduled for today, Sunday Nov 29, 2020.
Kaavan’s relocation is going to be one of the biggest undertaken so far as a 5-ton heavy elephant will be airlifted in an equally heavy metal crate through a chartered plane from Pakistan to Cambodia.
According to the Four Paws Director of Project Dr Amir Khalil, the flight time is 8 hours long and Kaavan will have to stand in the crate for 14 to 15 hours taking into consideration the transportation time from the zoo to the airport and then at its destination.
The cargo plane, a Russian aircraft Ilyushin Il-76, will arrive Sunday morning (Nov 29) and leave the same evening. It will also make a brief stopover at an Indian airport for refueling purpose and for examination of the animal’s health by the vets accompanying him.
Cher had arrived on Friday and held a meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan the same day. On Saturday, she visited the Marghazar Zoo of Islamabad to see Kaavan and to learn about the arrangements being made for his relocation.
She was told by Dr Amir Khalil all the arrangements have been finalized and both the countries, Pakistan and Cambodia have issued CITES permits for his relocation. Besides the metal crate is also ready to take Kaavan to the airport, said Khalil.
This is something I have been waiting for all these years, said Cher adding she raised voice for Kaavan’s plight and “thanks to the international community, Four Paws, Free the Wild, Friends of the Islamabad Zoo, the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and many other organizations and individuals who gave an overwhelming response to my call and made it possible,” said the 74-year old pop singer.
