Why is this heavy Asian elephant of Pakistan being discussed?

New York, September 5, 2020, Saturday

Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, is claimed to be high-tech and modern, but its zoo is in such a predicament that animals are being taken out and sent abroad. There is also a 35-year-old Asian elephant named Kavan. Preparations are underway for the elephant to leave the Islamabad zoo and settle in Cambodia.

This elephant eats 200 kg of sugarcane every day and since its brain has not been exercised, it does nothing but shake its head and trunk like this for hours. This elephant is bored without supervision and care. It has a lot of strength but it does not like to be approached by a man as it is not trained. Therefore, doctors also face many difficulties in its treatment and examination. Just a few years ago, during a trip to Pakistan, a female veterinarian from California opened a zoo in Islamabad. These animals are not well cared for. Two lions and two ostriches died just days before the attempt to restore them.

The Kavan elephant was gifted to Pakistan by Sri Lanka in 1985, but Pakistan could not save the elephant. The elephant had been chained for 28 years and no one cared for it except feeding it. The veterinary woman doctor launched an initiative on the Internet that caught the attention of the American pop icon.

Eventually, even at the local level, there was opposition to the zoo. The condition of the animals in the zoo was so bad that a judge of the court ordered to take all the animals to another place. Following the High Court order, the Austrian animal welfare group P Pose International was selected to send two bears and three wolves.

Elephant Kavan now has to make a big sea crate to be sent to a wildlife sanctuary in Cambodia and it is also necessary for the elephant to get used to living in it. It is also possible that this giant elephant could be carried by Antonov AN225 cargo plane, but experts want to know the health of Kavan by examining him before he is released from Pakistan.

Kawan's partner was brought from Sri Lanka in 1990 and died in 2012 from Gregory. Kavan is likely to find a new partner after delivering Kabodia. According to the court order, Kavan was to be released in just 30 days, but it seems that the time limit has been extended.