‘Cher & The Loneliest Elephant’ Follows a Music Icon’s Race to Save Kaavan (VIDEO)
Music icon Cher is adding a new credit to her resume as she puts her wildlife conservationist hat on to help save Kaavan, the “world’s loneliest elephant,” in the Smithsonian Channel and Paramount+’s moving documentary Cher & The Loneliest Elephant.
Just in time for Earth Day (April 22), the program chronicles the singer’s efforts of traveling to Pakistan to help oversee the relocation of Kaavan amid a global pandemic. Using her celebrity to help drive a cause that grew out of a social media campaign, Cher teamed up with expert veterinarians, animal aid groups and sanctuary owners to give Kaavan a better life.
In the newly released trailer below, viewers get a taste of the challenges this group faces when they take on the task of moving a four-ton elephant a lengthy distance of 2,300 miles.
The documentary will begin streaming on Paramount+ Thursday, April 22, as a special Earth Day presentation. It can be seen on linear cable television starting Wednesday, May 19, when it premieres on Smithsonian Channel.
“I saw all the people being affected by it all over the world,” said Cher in a statement to the press about her initial involvement after learning about Kaavan’s story online. “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.”
(Credit: Zoobs Ansari)
A wildly neglected animal, Kaavan spent almost 20 years in chains and was used to beg for tips while living in an unstable shed. The bad conditions led Kaavan to experience serious health problems, including depression and obesity, which were only exacerbated when his only mate died. When Kaavan’s story crossed Cher’s path, she co-founded Free The Wild with Mark Crowne, Gine Nelthorpe Crowne and Jennifer Ruiz to help raise awareness.
“Elephants are just like we are; they’re so family-oriented and emotional. And so, I wanted to free him,” Cher explains in the trailer.
See her and the other activist’s efforts to free Kaavan in the moving teaser below, which also features a tune by the performer, and don’t miss Cher & The Loneliest Elephant this spring.
Cher & The Loneliest Elephant, Premieres Thursday, April 22, Paramount+ & Wednesday, May 19, 8/7c, Smithsonian Channel
