Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Cher Visits Pakistan to Mark Freedom for 'Loneliest Elephant'

Ayaz Gul

   ISLAMABAD - Oscar-winning American singer-actor Cher briefly visited
   Pakistan Friday to mark the newly-found freedom of a 35-year-old
   elephant named Kaavan, who she campaigned to move out of captivity.

   Cher's arrival in Islamabad and other activities, however, were kept
   from the media for reasons not immediately known.

   Kaavan, dubbed the world's loneliest elephant, will be flown out of
   Pakistan on Sunday aboard a special cargo plane to better living
   conditions in a wildlife sanctuary in Cambodia.

   The elephant's departure will effectively cap a years-long campaign by
   animal rights activists, including Cher, to rescue Kaavan who was
   gifted to Pakistan by Sri Lanka in 1985 when he was one year old.

   Kaavan was held in chains for years in an insufficient enclosure and
   was forced to perform in front of visitors in the poorly managed
   Marghazar Zoo in Islamabad, the Pakistani capital.

.