Music has always been known to be a great stress reliever. Many fall back to soothing rhythms and lyrics in times of celebrations, heartbreaks and even tragedy.
However, it appears that it is not only human beings that seem to be appreciating the healing power of music in these times. In Pakistan, a melancholic elephant is also relying on his specially curated music playlist.
The elephant, named Kaavan, is currently under assessment to determine if he can be moved from poor conditions in a zoo in Pakistan’s capital to a sanctuary in Cambodia.
According to one of the vets carrying out this assessment, the trick to calming an unhappy elephant such as Kaavan is to sing him songs from iconic 20th-century American singer, Frank Sinatra.
Amir Khalil, a vet who has worked in war zones to rescue animals, is now in Islamabad with welfare organisation Four Paws to determine whether Kaavan is safe to travel after a Pakistan court ruled in May that all animals at Islamabad’s zoo must be set free or transferred to a better environment.
“When we arrived 10 days ago … I started to train him and to sing to him and he accommodated me so we have a relationship,” he said, adding he chose Sinatra’s hit “My Way”.
Animal rights advocates have long raised concerns about conditions at Islamabad’s zoo, where dozens of animals including six lion cubs have died in the past four years.
The court decision came after a four-year global campaign, backed by American singer Cher. Plans are underway to move Kaavan, to Cambodia if possible.
The 36-year-old elephant has spent most of his life in a small enclosure with meagre shelter, and the last eight years alone after his companion elephant died.
Kaavan might be one of the loneliest elephants in the world, but at least he has his Frank Sinatra songs to cheer him up every now and then.
