by The Elephant Was Abused For 50 Years And Lived In Chains, Is Finally Freed By Wildlife Sos
For over 51 years, 70 year old elephant ‘Gajraj’ belongs to the Royal family of Aundh, in the Satara district of Maharashtra performed his responsibilities as a temple elephant where local fans saw him as an icon of worship as he played an important duty in festivals and temple processes.
Last week, the saga of this spectacular tusker took a remarkable turn for the better! Gajraj whose name translates to “King of Elephants’ finally retired from his duties and was helpful to rescue and rehabilitation NGO, Wildlife SOS for his long term medical therapy and lifetime treatment. Gajraj’s plight was brought to attention by a PETA campaign and as concerned elephant lovers from worldwide discovered Gajraj’s medical condition, hundreds of requests for Wildlife SOS to intervene and aid him gathered.
A medical examination had exposed that Gajraj required medical interest for his toenail abscess which could spread to the bone in addition to the hip ᴀʙsᴄᴇssᴇs while his foot pads suffered severe degeneration. This made him a candidate for geriatric life time care at Wildlife SOS Elephant Conservation & Care Center in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh.
The royal family of Aundh provided him a warm farewell. The local citizens however became extremely emotional and hostile as Gajraj was preparing to leave, collecting in large numbers with things taking an awful twist as the mob became unruly. With each min the atmosphere became gripped with tension and a large police force was released to guarantee protection for the Wildlife SOS rescue team.
eventually the elephant was placed inside the Elephant Ambulance– presently India’s only specifically designed elephant ambulance. He after that embarked on a 1500 km trip in addition to specialist vets, paramedics, elephant caretakers and rescue group to his brand-new home.
As the Elephant Ambulance arrived at the Wildlife SOS Elephant Conservation and Care Center, Gajraj first gingerly tested the ground with the trunk prior to gently placing his foot out of the vehicle after which he strolled with no chains on his feet for the first time, accompanied by caring elephant keepers and vets to his new house, where he will live without any worry, neither will he be required to work at a temple or at ceremonies ever again!
Gajraj can currently be seen investing his day leisurely munching on fresh fruits and green fodder while splashing around in his individual pool and taking dust baths. The veterinarians have started treating him with daily medicated foot soaks and draining his ᴀʙsᴄᴇssᴇs, while giving him a special diet along with dietary supplements to aid regain his strength.
Many elephants from young to old have been discovered being ᴀʙᴜsᴇᴅ in religious temples, amusement parks, and tug-of-wars. They are ᴀʙᴜsᴇᴅ, beaten, exploited to the point of ᴄʀᴜᴇʟᴛʏ. But only in a few are they rescued. To preserve elephants we work together to rescue trapped elephants and say no to hunting, don’t ride them! Elephants used for tourist rides suffer extreme abuse throughout their lives. They’re beaten, chained, deprived of medical attention, starved, and kept from bonding with other elephants.
Baby elephants are captured in the wild and “broken.”
Baby elephants are poached from the wild, isolated from their mothers, and bound and beaten for months until they’re so scared of people they’ll do anything to avoid the abuse. This cruel practice even has a name, “phajaan,” or “breaking of the spirit.” Once their spirits are broken, they are ᴛʀᴀᴜᴍᴀᴛɪᴢᴇᴅ, overworked, and seen only as money makers for decades. Wildlife SOS is committed to eradicating this abusive industry, and it starts with YOU!
