The 2022 Oscar-winning Netflix documentary The Elephant Whisperers shows the story of a baby elephant, Raghu, and his adoptive (human) parents living in the Theppakadu Elephant Camp in Tamil Nadu.

The camp has rehabilitated elephants for 105 years now, currently hosting 28 elephants. The 40-minute documentary directed by Kartiki Gonsalves explores the cultural and symbolic importance of elephants for the Kattunayakan tribe, the primary caretakers of elephants in the camp.

Raghu’s journey and the emotional relationship he shares with his parents serve as a beautiful but tragic contrast to the years-long-agony of Kaavan, who came to be known as the “loneliest elephant on earth”, housed at the Islamabad zoo.

Kaavan and Saheli

In 1985, in a bid to strengthen diplomatic ties, Sri Lanka gifted Pakistan a one-year-old Asian elephant, Kaavan as a state present. Kaavan is a Tamil name that translates to “deity of the forest”.

Far from the association with his name, Kaavan was kept chained in a small enclosure at Marghazar Zoo in Islamabad. The enclosure was 90 by 140 metres small, with no trees, and a small pond. Temperatures in Islamabad’s hot summers rise up to 40 degrees Celsius and yet Kaavan was provided with minimal shade, leaving him drained and dehydrated.

Kaavan’s companion Saheli, who had been brought in from Sri Lanka in 1995, passed away in 2012 after writhing in pain for weeks with little to no medical assistance.

Symbolically, elephants are considered emblems of economic and cultural progress in Buddhism, the dominant religion in Sri Lanka. Pakistan has no indigenous Asian elephants whereas Sri Lanka hosts approximately 6,000 members of the endangered species.

The absence of a proper sanctuary as well as the zoo management’s negligence caused Kaavan’s behavioural and physiological health to deteriorate. Apart from the cruel captivity, Kaavan’s diet was also substandard and did not meet the mark set by the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF).

Despite all this, Kaavan could not be returned to Sri Lanka because returning a state present is perceived as undiplomatic. In 2019, the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad to rescue Kaavan.

Kaavan makes history

The petition gained international momentum when NGOs such as Free the Wild (FTW) — co-founded by American pop icon, Cher — and The Nonhuman Rights Project — an American animal rights group — started a massive online campaign gaining more than 200,000 signatures to free Kaavan.

On May 21, 2020, the IHC announced that the inadequate living conditions of Kaavan for the past three decades, as well as all other animals at the Marghazar Zoo, were in violation of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1890 and the Wildlife Ordinance of 1979. The court announced that the Board of Wildlife Management, preferably in coordination with the Sri Lankan High Commissioner, must relocate Kaavan to an appropriate sanctuary within 30 days.

Additionally, the court ordered the board to relocate the remaining animals to their respective sanctuaries within 60 days of receiving the judgement. The zoo’s management was handed over to the Board of Wildlife Management and the Ministry of Climate Change was held jointly liable for the well-being of the animals until relocation.

The IHC mandated no new zoo animals to be admitted until approved by a reputable international zoological organisation, ensuring proper facilities for each species.

These rules were to be applied across all zoos under the Islamabad Capital Territory. The court also advised soft measures such as teaching the importance of animal welfare via school curriculum and media channels.

What of the rest?

The judgement is prolific on paper and has ensured a healthier future for Kaavan, but ambiguity still surrounds the fate of other animals. Since zoos were shut down during the Covid-19 lockdowns, zero revenue generation worsened the animals’ misery.

On June 6, 2020, Peshawar Zoo reported a third dead giraffe in a single month due to ‘mysterious circumstances’. Earlier this year, Noor Jehan, one of two elephants being kept at the Karachi Zoo, passed away after a protracted illness, bringing an end to years of suffering. Not surprisingly, the post mortem found that Noor Jehan was suffering from multiple serious health complications, mainly due to lack of proper care, and that she was infected with a potentially fatal blood parasite.

In an underdeveloped country like Pakistan, zoos provide a low-cost recreational and educational activity for its population — but does that justify the horrid state of animals in our zoos?

The tragic reality is that animals are brought in to die a slow, painful death. Do these animals deserve a lifetime of misery and suffering so our citizens can get 30 minutes of distraction and entertainment? Is it not the government’s responsibility to provide leisure that does not come at the expense of a living being?

If anything, Covid-19 should have made humans more empathetic about captivity and cages. These animals are torn from their natural environment and subjected to human cruelty.

Even if we use examples of successful conservation cases of the Arabian Oryx, Mauritius Kestrel and other endangered species from European zoos that justify their existence, can the same be argued for zoos in Pakistan where approximately 37 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line?

In 2018, the Lahore Zoo planned to import new animals worth millions, not to mention the costs that the government would have to incur to provide an adequate environment and care for the captive animals. This included pandas, tigers and elephants, based on popular demand. But does popular demand validate the basis of demanding endangered species, especially when we have a solid track record of mistreating them?

While millions are spent on importing animals, our domestic animals are dying and animal shelters are severely underfunded. Perhaps it is time to shift focus from the ‘exotic’ to the animals that are already within our borders.

On July 1, 2020, a video from Bahria Orchard Zoo in Lahore surfaced where a black bear exhibited severe symptoms of Zoochosis — a form of psychosis that develops in animals held captive in zoos. The bear howled repetitively, indicating the severe toll captivity had taken on his mental health.

This video made several viewers compare it to Kaavan and urged animal activists to rescue it. The only lesson children can learn from seeing these animals are the power dynamics that govern our society — the weak are oppressed and made a spectacle for the amusement of the powerful. How can one instil empathy in children when we take them to see animals in pain for recreational value?

David Attenborough, a renowned natural historian, argues that zoos play a fundamental role in bridging the gap between human beings and other species. His approach towards which animals should and should not be a part of the enclosed life can be implemented all over the world.

He believes that modern aquariums with high-ceiling tanks offer a wonderful opportunity for marine communities to coexist while maintaining the illusion of sea life. He warns against keeping bears, raptors and giant hunting mammals in captivity unless it is for conservation purposes and even then, to only keep them in wildlife sanctuaries. Would it not make more sense for Pakistan to categorise and allocate animals to habitats based on their instincts?

Pakistan’s economy is in shambles, our Human Development Index rankings are embarrassingly low and we are at the forefront of the worst global climate crisis in the midst of a prolonged political crisis. In a society as frail as Pakistan, why have we not shut down the zoos already?

Header illustration: A man protesting against zoos and animal cruelty. — Klyaksun/Shutterstock