Vet Dr. Amir Khalil on how music therapy is helping the Sri Lankan-born elephant prepare for the move to his new home
By Dimithri Wijesinghe
Kaavan is an Asian elephant currently living in Pakistan, having lived 35 years in confinement in the Islamabad Zoo. Born in Sri Lanka, he was sent to Pakistan as a diplomatic gift from Sri Lanka while he was still a calf and has spent his days in captivity since. After Kaavan’s mate, who he was with since 1990, unfortunately passed away in 2012, Kaavan has lived in distress and totally alone.
However, Kaavan is about to undergo a life-changing experience – he’s about to be moved to a new home where he can finally live out his days as a wild elephant. Kaavan is set to be moved to a sanctuary in Cambodia courtesy of Four Paws International, a global animal welfare organisation based in Vienna, Austria.
Veterinarian and Four Paws International Director Dr. Amir Khalil, who has been overlooking Kaavan’s care since the organisation took over the animal’s relocation, has since formed a close bond with him, discovering along the way that Kaavan is a music lover and, like himself, appreciates Frank Sinatra; Kaavan is especially a fan of the song “My Way”.
Dr. Khalil shared that as they decided to move Kaavan, they were faced with the very real difficulty of transporting a distressed, and at first aggressive, fully grown male elephant. Dr. Khalil said he spent a lot of time with Kaavan when attempting to find a solution and also in the midst of taking over Kaavan’s care. They provided him with a balanced diet as he was five-and-a-half pounds overweight when they first met – due to an unhealthy amount of sugarcane being fed to him – and healed him from wounds he got whilst living in an enclosure with unfavourable conditions that caused the elephant’s nails to crack, leaving him vulnerable to infection. During this time, Dr. Khalil said he would sing his favourite music, essentially of Frank Sinatra, and this was when he found that Kaavan was an avid jazz music enthusiast.
He spoke of developing what he had learned into a form of music therapy. He found out that the music he sang resonated with Kaavan, and paired with the medical attention and care the animal was receiving, it seemed to mellow him down and he was beginning to respond better to his treatment, thereby getting him closer to the goal of reaching his new home.
“No one has actually liked my voice, not even my own children, and now I have a fan in Kaavan who is my sole audience member and truly enjoys my voice,” said Dr. Khalil, who has grown extremely fond of Kaavan and spoke very tenderly of his time with him.
Dr. Khalil shared that since his team – which includes him as the vet and mission leader, Marion Lombard as the deputy mission leader, and Dr. Marina Ivanova as the vet in charge of the elephant’s relocation – had promptly attended to Kaavan’s needs since August, the elephant had achieved great progress.
He said that they are now working on preparing Kaavan for his upcoming journey where he’ll have to take a 4,000 km flight in a crate especially developed for him. He said that Kaavan needs to get comfortable in the crate, and he is currently being given special training to get familiarised with it.
Dr. Khalil shared that at first, his weight posed a logistical challenge. However, since his weight loss and him adopting healthier habits, their original concern to fly him in an aircraft – i.e. an Antonov cargo plane – that would better carry his weight has subsided. Nevertheless, it still remains that he is a five-tonne elephant that needs to be carried in a crate that is also of the same weight, so logistically there are things to be looked at.
Kaavan will be given 25,000 acres in Cambodia to finally live the way nature intended him to live, and Dr. Khalil shared that he may even find another companion to spend his days with in the sanctuary.
Dr. Khalil said that Kaavan was a diplomatic gift and so it is only right that he should be given the same presidential treatment as he leaves the country. He said that Kaavan is retiring from his duties as a presidential envoy, having completed his service to Pakistan, and now it is time for him to live peacefully in retirement. After 37 years of captivity, he will finally be treated as an elephant.