Kavaan breaks fence around his enclosure

ISLAMABAD: Kavaan, the lone elephant at the Marghazar Zoo, has started giving the zoo administration a hard time and destroyed the fence at the rear and right of his small enclosure.

A source at the zoo told Dawn that Kavaan was probably acting out due to him being alone for a long time and because of the high temperatures and heat from which he has nowhere to hide in the three-walled structure built for him.

The zoo official said a young boy had managed to get into the elephant’s enclosure and that the elephant had charged towards him. However, the boy was able to get out just in time. Though there is a moat between the elephant and the fence, the animal can attack visitors by throwing bricks and stones at them through the broken fence.

“He broke the fence because of the congested environment [in which he is living]. The broken fence will be repaired by Friday,” said Mohammad Irfan, the newly appointed director zoo.

When asked about the safety of visitors, Mr Irfan said he has deputed guards by the broken fence in order to stop any other visitor from going in.

The case of the 32-year-old Asian elephant has been taken up by animal right activists from across the world, who spoke up about the animal living in a small, shabby shed and not having a partner.

Due to the protests, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) unchained Kavaan last September but is yet to improve his enclosure.

The photograph shows the fence damaged by Kavaan. — Photos by Khurram Amin

The animal does not have an enclosure large enough for him to move about freely and the three walled structure made for him does not provide adequate shade in the summer months.

His partner, Saheli, died in 2012 due to negligence by the zoo staff and he has been alone since, despite repeated promises of bringing him another elephant.

“Kavaan is angry and can cause harm. He can cross the moat. Why is CDA not improving the enclosures in the zoo,” asked a visitor, Hussein Ahmed.

When asked, Member Environment Sanaullah Aman said another fence will soon be installed around the elephant’s enclosure.

“We will also expand the enclosure. We have also called an expression of interest from national and international firms for expanding the zoo from 25 to 80 acres,” he said, adding that the facilities at the zoo will be improved and that a partner will be brought for Kavaan from Sri Lanka.

Recently, popstar Cher sent her agent, Mark Cowne to Islamabad to check up on Kavaan and his living conditions, and the plight of the animal was also discussed in Senate on a number of occasions.