Know as the “world’s loneliest elephant” Kaavan an Asian bull elephant relocated to the Cambodia Wildlife Sanctuary with the help of DHL a courier, parcel, and express mail service company that delivers more than 1.5 billion parcels a year.
Kaavan was born in Sri Lanka in 1985 and upon his birth, the Sri Lankan government gifted him the then-president of Pakistan Zia-ul-Haq fostering a positive relationship between the two countries. The elephant was kept at the Islamabad Zoo and remained as the only Asian elephant living within Pakistan. Another elephant named Saheli was then brought from Bangladesh five year later and remained as Kaavans partner until her death in 2012.
In September 2016, a news report highlighted the dire conditions in which Kaavan was living, including being bound to chains for over two decades. The Islamabad High Court took up the case in May 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic and handed down the verdict that Kaavan should be freed. It ordered wildlife officials to consult with Sri Lankan authorities to find a suitable sanctuary for the elephant in another country within 30 days. The zoo consequently decided to send the elephant to Cambodia.
This meant extensive and careful planning for months on end by FOUR PAWS, a global animal welfare organization, veterinary specialists, and DHL Global Forwarding. The international specialist arm of Deutsche Post DHL Group took care of the logistics, including the necessary customs authorization of the transport for Kaavan.
Shipping life animals is especially complex as each animal has a unique requirement and Kaavan, who belongs to the largest land mammal species on the Asian continent is the first adult elephant to board an aeroplane in Pakistan. The multimodal journey had to be planned carefully. The temperature was controlled throughout the flight and Kaavan was accompanied by veterinaries to make sure he is safe.
Kaavan was diagnosed earlier this year as being dangerously overweight, owing to his unstable diet of 250kg of sugar cane each day. With the assistance of Khalil, the veterinarian the two were able to work together and ensure a weight loss of 450kg over three months and Kaavan was down to a slimmer, more agile 4tons and height of more than three meters.
The mammoth task of getting him into an elephant-sized metal box design specifically for his travels took several hours and was one of the most crucial steps in rescuing him. The total flight time from Pakistan to Cambodia is 5hours, 33minutes and this is without transportation to and from locations.
Dr. Khalil mentioned that Kaavan behaved like a ‘frequent flyer’ on his journey and was not stressed and had even eaten and slept a bit during the flight. Before embarking on the last leg of his journey to the sanctuary, Buddhist monks gave the elephant bananas and watermelon to welcome him in the country.
The Asian elephant is settling well in his new home and will hopefully no longer be known as the loneliest elephant as three female elephants will be introduced to him and he might have a new partner to share his life with.