Cher flies in to rescue world's loneliest elephant from Islamabad zoo

She is the Oscar-winning pop queen famed for singing 'I Got You Babe'. He is reputedly the world's loneliest elephant, who has spent years without anyone.

The unlikely pair met for the first time on Saturday at a zoo in Islamabad, as the US singer Cher came close to fulfilling a five-year campaign to give Kaavan a better life.

The nearly five-ton bull elephant will on Sunday spend his final hours in Pakistan before being transported to a sanctuary in Cambodia. There, he will begin a new existence in a huge new enclosure with three females after years of being kept chained, isolated and neglected.

His departure marks victory for a lengthy campaign, which has seen Kaavan's fate become an international rallying cry for animal rights activists including Cher.

“This is the most wonderful moment and more than I could ever have expected,” the 74-year-old singer told the Telegraph as Kaavan spent his final night in Pakistan.

Kaavan's transfer has seen Cher and her allies overcome hurdles including bureaucracy, vested interests, political sensitivities and lately Covid-19 restrictions to reach their goal.

“I am so excited that after five years of work, we now have Kaavan travelling to Cambodia,” she said. “I am very grateful for all the support of everyone who joined us on this journey.”

Kavaan arrived at Marghazar Zoo as a calf in 1985, as a gift from the Sri Lankan government to the then military dictator, Gen Zia-ul-Haq. The zoo became notorious for mistreatment and corruption and Kavaan spent much of the time chained in an enclosure with little shelter or space. A female companion died in 2012 after an infection turned gangrenous and her body lay beside Kaavan for several days before being removed.

Crowds still paid to see Kaavan, but his condition was worsening with boredom, said Mark Cowne, a showbiz manager who founded the Free The Wild animal welfare charity with Cher.

“People were saying: 'Look how the elephant is dancing', but he wasn't dancing, he was having a mental breakdown,” he said. “It reminded me of Victorian asylums and people going to watch the inmates for entertainment.”

His condition was so bad that a campaign launched at first simply to get Kaavan unchained, instead decided to try to rehouse him entirely. As Kavaan had been a gift from Sri Lanka, it was deemed impolitic to return him there.

Pakistan's arch rival India was also out of the question. Brief talks were held with Myanmar's Aung San Syu Kyi, but eventually an elephant refuge in Cambodia was chosen.

Pakistan's high court ordered the closure of the zoo in May because of the abysmal living conditions blamed on systemic negligence.

In recent months he has been cared for by experts from the Four Paws animal welfare charity, which has been working alongside Free The Wild.

Kaavan's diet has been switched from an unhealthy 550lb (250kg) of sugar cane each day, to a more balanced menu of vegetables and foliage. As a result, he has lost nearly half a ton. His weight loss means he can now be transported in a smaller cargo plane, saving huge sums of money, said Dr Amir Khalil, a vet with Four Paws.

Asian elephants like Kaavan can potentially live up to 80 years, meaning Kaavan should have decades ahead of him.

“I think Kavaan somehow knows what's going on,” said Dr Khalil, as he oversaw the final preparations. “We don't need to feel sorry for him or pity him any longer. Soon he will be able to speak his own language.”