Nothing makes me cry more than hearing a story of a helpless animal that is neglected and/or hurt. And this story is no different. For 50 years this elephant was held captive. Read on for the full story and get the tissues ready.
Meet Raju the elephant.
Raju the elephant was left bleeding from spiked shackles and living on hand-outs from passing tourists after he was captured and tied up by his “owner”.
But after 50 years of torture, the animal cried tears of relief after he was rescued by a wildlife charity in a daring midnight operation — on July 4, Independence Day.
One of the rescuers said: “The chains around his legs had spikes which were cutting into his flesh — and each time he moved, pus would ooze out of wounds. Pain and brutality were all he knew”.
A rescuer said: “His cruel handler even tore out the hair from his tail to sell as good luck charms. The exploitation and pain just had to stop”.
A team of ten vets and wildlife experts from Wildlife SOS were joined by 20 officers of the forestry department and six policemen to release Raju from his suffering in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
The operation took place under the cover of darkness and Pooja Binepal, the Wildlife SOS’s UK spokesman, described it as “incredibly emotional” for the team.
“Raju has spent the past 50 years living a pitiful existence in chains 24 hours a day, an act of intolerable cruelty”.
After being freed, tears of joy literally rolled down Raju’s face.
“The team were astounded to see tears roll down his face during the rescue. It was so incredibly emotional for all of us. We knew in our hearts he realized he was being freed”.
The rescuer said: “Elephants are not only majestic, but they are highly intelligent animals, who have been proven to have feelings of grief, so we can only imagine what torture half a century has been like for him”.
A rescuer attempts to remove Raju’s chains.
The spikes are clearly visible and the pain they must have caused would have been excruciating.
Here is Raju after his rescue — he is recovering as well as could be expected.
He was then sedated and brought to the Elephant Conservation and Care Center.
He seemed to enjoy his first taste of freedom.
Once he arrived, he was given a bath and medical treatment.
He loved the attention he got from the staff.
Now he enjoys his life – free from pain and suffering.
It’s just heartbreaking to me that someone could hurt and harm such a beautiful animal.