Cambodia: Only Asian elephant in Pakistan prepared for new home

Frank Goeritz (left), head of the veterinary service at Leibniz Institute for zoo and wildlife research in Berlin, and Amir Khalil, head of project development at FOUR PAWS International, take blood sample of Kaavan, an elephant at the Marghazar Zoo in Islamabad, Pakistan. The elephants is headed for a sanctuary in Cambodia. - Reuters

ISLAMABAD, Sept 6 (AFP): A team of international vets using tranquilliser darts, flatbreads and the soothing lyrics of Frank Sinatra conducted a medical examination Friday on Pakistan's only Asian elephant, ahead of his planned move to Cambodia.

The plight of Kaavan, an overweight, 35-year-old bull elephant has drawn international condemnation and highlighted the woeful state of Islamabad's zoo, where conditions are so bad a judge in May ordered all the animals to be moved.