India's first Elephant Hospital opens

The very first hospital for elephants opened in India this week, creating a place where these gentle giants can receive care.

Wildlife SOS opened the hospital on Friday, drawing support from celebrities, media, and government officials from all over the world.

“Since its inception in 1995, Wildlife SOS has been working tirelessly to save wild animals throughout India, rescuing everything from bears to crocodiles and cobras if they needed help,” Wildlife SOS said. “So, when we received a call back in 2008 to assist an elephant that had met with an accident in the state of Uttar Pradesh, we immediately jumped into action. This was new ground; we had no idea back then how this elephant would map a new course for Wildlife SOS.”

Since helping that first elephant, the organization went on to save 26 elephants from heart breaking conditions in circuses and temples, street begging and highway accidents, and brought them to their centres to receive short term medical treatment and long term rehabilitation.

“With every captive elephant rescue, we’ve seen some of the same distressing and depressing things: their bodies are weakened from improper nutrition, their delicate feet are riddled with wounds, they are socially isolated and psychologically traumatized, many have ongoing medical problems that have been left untreated for years,” the organization says. “Over the years, we have evolved in our understanding of the issues these elephants face, and have gained experience in lifelong care of elephants.”

“Keeping with our objective to protect Asian elephants from abuse, exploitation and provide them with the best medical care available, we are immensely proud to share with you that we have established India’s first elephant hospital — the Wildlife SOS Elephant Hospital — specially designed to treat injured, sick, or geriatric elephants.”

Wildlife SOS says that the new facility is capable of conducting a variety of important laboratory tests for elephants. It’s also set up with some other impressive and vital technology such as ultrasound, laser therapy, an in-house pathology lab, a medical hoist for disabled elephants, a hydrotherapy pool quarantine enclosures, and more.

“Our goal first and foremost is to provide the best treatment for elephants in Asia, but we also aim to make the Wildlife SOS Elephant Hospital instrumental in this field, spreading knowledge on topics like elephant-care best practices, humane elephant management, and cutting-edge veterinary procedures. We want this to be a place of healing as well as a place of learning,” the organization says.

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