Kaavan, a 36-year old Asian elephant, is settling in his new home in Cambodia after his flight from Islamabad, Pakistan.  The “long-haul” flight took months of careful and extensive planning by FOUR PAWS, a global animal welfare organization, veterinary specialists and DHL Global Forwarding. The international freight specialist arm of Deutsche Post DHL Group took care of the logistics, including securing the necessary customs authorization, for the transportation of Kaavan from his previous home at the Marghazar Zoo.  

Weighing over four tons and at more than three meters in height, Kaavan boarded the plane on 30 November after a medical check for his long-awaited journey to his new home at Cambodia Wildlife Sanctuary. The Asian elephant had taken a truck ride, from the zoo to the Islamabad International Airport. A customized crate, in full compliance with the International Air Transport Association’s regulations, was specially built for the trips.

“Shipping live animals is especially complex as each animal has its unique requirements and Kaavan, who belongs to the largest land mammal species on the Asian continent, is the first adult elephant to board an airplane in Pakistan. We had to make special arrangements for him and are delighted to have been able to leverage our logistics know-how and global network of temperature controlled facilities, in addition to FOUR PAWS’ animal expertise, to safely bring Kaavan to his new home in Cambodia,” said Kelvin Leung, CEO, DHL Global Forwarding Asia Pacific.