Skip to content

Date of Birth

1985

Gender

Male

Age at Rescue

35 Years Old

Rescue Location

Marghazar Zoo in Islamabad, Pakistan

Rescue Date

29 November 2020

Herd / Friends

Solitary Bull

Kaavan

Kaavan is a male Asian elephant who was known as the ‘world’s loneliest elephant’ after his companion Saheli died in 2012.

Tragically, Kaavan was captured from the wild in Sri Lanka and gifted to Pakistan to demonstrate a positive relationship between the two countries. Upon arrival in Pakistan, Kaavan was transferred to the Marghazar Zoo in Islamabad.

Activists around the world became aware of the plight of Kaavan in 2015 after petitions and news articles began to circulate about the dire conditions in which he was languishing. It was reported that he was bound in chains for over two decades.

The footage and images of Kaavan’s plight went viral and captured the heart of American pop star Cher. Activists led by Cher fought for 5 long years to free Kaavan from the zoo and bring him to sanctuary.

Kaavan
Kaavan

In May 2020, the Islamabad High Court ordered the immediate release of Kaavan to Cambodia Wildlife Sanctuary, however his rescue was delayed until November 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On November 29, 2020 Kaavan’s crate was loaded onto a Russian cargo plane to be flown to Cambodia with a technical stop in Mumbai, India. Kaavan arrived at Siem Reap airport the following day and was transferred by road to his forever home at Cambodia Wildlife Sanctuary.

Kaavan has now started the next chapter of his life in his new enormous jungle home – one with freedom, love and kindness.

Please scroll through their history and consider sponsoring Kaavan

Kaavan’s Beautiful Life at Cambodia Wildlife Sanctuary
Kaavan’s Beautiful Life at Cambodia Wildlife Sanctuary

Rescued from a zoo in Islamabad in November 2020, Kaavan was flown to Cambodia Wildlife Sanctuary to live out his…
Read More

Cambodia Wildlife Sanctuary Winter Style Guru
Cambodia Wildlife Sanctuary Winter Style Guru

Kaavan - one cool dude at Cambodia Wildlife Sanctuary. Cooler weather is coming. "I think I’ll let my hair grow…
Read More

Kaavan is now enjoying Cambodia Wildlife Sanctuary thanks to American Singer Cher
Kaavan is now enjoying Cambodia Wildlife Sanctuary thanks to American Singer Cher

Activists around the world became aware of the plight of Kaavan in 2015 after petitions and news articles began to…
Read More

Former world’s loneliest elephant Kaavan with a new lease of life
Former world's loneliest elephant Kaavan with a new lease of life

Rescued from a zoo in Pakistan, Kaavan was brought to Cambodia Wildlife Sanctuary and has a new lease on life.…
Read More

Diploh enjoying her solitary life at Cambodia Wildlife Sanctuary
Diploh enjoying the jungle at Cambodia Wildlife Sanctuary

Diploh spends many hours filling her belly with the fruit of the forest. She loves a heavy rain. She will…
Read More

Kaavan loves to explore his jungle and particularly enjoys roaming at night
Kaavan loves to explore his jungle and particularly enjoys roaming at night

We asked Kavaan's Mahout to tell us a little about Kaavan. This is what he told us: Kaavan loves to…
Read More

Elephant Kaavan First Time Sleep In The Jungle – ElephantNews
TH TubeBuddy Sign-in Required, Click Here Up next in 8 59:36 (4K) Breathtaking Colorful Birds of the Rainforest - 1HR Wildlife Nature Film + Jungle Sounds in UHD Nature Relaxation Films Play now 0:59 / 0:59 Elephant Kaavan First Time Sleep In The Jungle - ElephantNews

This special moment of Kaavan spending time sleep in the jungle was filmed at Cambodia Wildlife Sanctuary. Just so amazing…
Read More

Some Elephants are able to be sponsored via Spotfund.

You might wish to consider Sponsoring an Elephant via Save Elephant Foundation using a Shopping Cart with PayPal.

Back To Top