Cher spent last Thanksgiving leading a rescue team to save a four-ton elephant in the middle of the pandemic, and yes, a new documentary is on the way.
Smithsonian Channel’s Cher & the Loneliest Elephant documents the superstar’s goal to save Kaavan, a malnourished elephant living in Pakistan. The elephant has spent nearly two decades in chains, living in a shed. He experienced depression, obesity, and the death of his mate.
Cher got wind of the crisis on social media, leading a team of veterinarians, animal aid groups, and sanctuary owners to the rescue. She co-founded Free the Wild and dropped the song “Walls,” leading to Pakistan ordering that the elephant be freed last spring.
“I saw all the people being affected by it all over the world,” Cher said in a statement. “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.”
The goal was to relocate the elephant from Pakistan to a sanctuary in Cambodia, but Kavaan experienced Musth, a condition with male elephants that causes an increase in reproductive hormones. Cher flew to Pakistan to ensure the elephant would be safely rescued.
“I was frightened, but then I thought, what do you want to do more?” she said. “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.”
The documentary will premiere on Earth Day (April 22nd) on Paramount+ in the States. It will be shown on the U.S. Smithsonian Channel a month later, on May 19th at 8 p.m. ET.