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Cher is not only an award-winning singer and actress, she’s also one to lend a helping hand. The iconic singer is on a mission to help a mistreated elephant find his way to a new home. TODAY was shown an exclusive clip from a new documentary that is about the 74-year-old befriending the “world’s loneliest elephant,” that will air on Paramount+.
Cameras followed Cher’s journey bringing a mistreated and “lonely” Asian elephant from a closed zoo in Pakistan more than 2,300 miles to its new home in Cambodia. The experience took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to TODAY. “Cher & The Loneliest Elephant” is a Smithsonian Channel documentary which will premiere on April 22, Earth Day.
Coined as the “world’s loneliest elephant,” the animal’s name is actually Kaavan and he reportedly suffered physical and emotional turmoil since his partner’s death back in 2012. According to TODAY, Kaavan was diagnosed by veterinarians as overweight and malnourished. “He was shackled,” Cher said in the trailer’s documentary. “He was suffering.”
The ‘Strong Enough’ singer was contacted by online activists who were trying to bring awareness to this Kaavan’s issue.
“I saw all the people being affected by it all over the world,” Cher said in a news release. ”People want a happy ending. People don‘t want to see animals suffer. And I know people are suffering too, but this is a story that can brighten their lives.”
Cher commented on her thoughts about making the trip from Pakistan to Cambodia and the experience of moving a four-ton elephant. Cher formed the organization Free the Wild to campaign for Kaavan‘s release, according to TODAY.
“I was frightened, but then I thought, what do you want to do more?” Cher said a press release. ”You made a promise, and you have to go. I didn‘t see any other way to do it. I have a saying on my Twitter, ’Stand and be counted or sit and be nothing.’ And I wasn’t going to sit and be nothing.” Luckily a crate was designed to transport the animal, according to TODAY.
“I never thought this was something that people would love all over the world,” she says in the documentary trailer. ”We just didn‘t stop fighting.
