Lanka Talents

Kaavan’s cause was boosted by a spirited social media campaign by Cher, who travelled to Pakistan to see him off. | Above: The crate containing Kaavan the Asian elephant is loaded onto a vehicle after his arrival in Cambodia.

Kaavan’s much-anticipated journey was “uneventful”, said Amir Khali, a veterinarian from animal welfare group Four Paws, adding he behaved “like a frequent flyer”. “Kaavan was eating, was not stressed – he was even a little bit sleeping, standing, leaning at the crate wall,” he said.

Once the sole Asian elephant in Pakistan, Kaavan will be transported from Siem Reap to neighbouring province Oddar Meanchey where a wildlife sanctuary with about 600 other elephants will be his new home.

Members of the animal welfare group Four Paws check on Kaavan the Asian elephant upon his arrival in Cambodia.

“Cambodia is pleased to welcome Kaavan. No longer will he be ‘the world’s loneliest elephant,'” deputy environment minister Neth Pheaktra said. “We expect to breed Kaavan with local elephants – this is an effort to conserve the genetic fold,” said the minister.

A crane lifts a crate carrying Kaavan, an elephant to be transported to a sanctuary in Cambodia, at the Islamabad International Airport in Islamabad.

This aerial photo shows the under-construction enclosure for Kaavan at the Kulen Prom Tep Wildlife Sanctuary in Oddar Meanchey province.

A team of vets and experts from Austria-based Four Paws has spent months working with Kaavan to get him ready for the trip – a complicated process due to his size and the amount of food needed en route.

US pop singer Cher walks past the crate containing Kaavan upon his arrival in Cambodia at Siem Reap International Airport.

Upon hearing about Kaavan’s freedom, Cher had tweeted that the decision marked “one of the greatest moments” of her life