Kaavan, Pakistan's lonesome elephant, starts new life in Cambodia

Animal experts gather as a crane uplifting crate carrying Kaavan, an elephant to be transported to a sanctuary in Cambodia, at the Marghazar Zoo in Islamabad, Pakistan November 29, 2020. REUTERS/Saiyna Bashir

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Pakistan's lonely elephant Kaavan arrived in Cambodia by cargo plane on Monday to start a new life with fellow pachyderms at a local sanctuary, the culmination of years of campaigning for his transfer by American singer Cher.

Cher was on the tarmac at the airport of Cambodia's second-biggest city Siem Reap to greet Kaavan and was photographed in sunglasses, black face mask and white jacket meeting the vets who accompanied the elephant, who made the long journey in a custom-made crate.