India takes a jumbo leap by launching its first hospital for elephants

India took a jumbo leap this year by launching its first ever hospital for elephants in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. Spanned over 12,000 square feet — the hospital is equipped with wireless digital X-ray, ultrasound, laser treatment, dental X-ray, a medical hoist for lifting elephants, among other facilities.

Located near its Elephant Conservation and Care Centre in Mathura, where severely abused captive elephants in distress get rehabilitated, this hospital is designed to treat sick, injured and geriatric elephants. Currently, it is providing long-term care to 23 elephants rescued from different parts of the country.

Mirror talked to the co-founders of Wildlife SOS, the non-profit behind the hospital, Geeta Seshamani and Kartick Satyanarayan, to get insights on what it takes to run an elephant’s hospital while many in the country continue to remain unaware on how to treat elephants right.

Kartick said that creating public awareness is a big challenge. He believes that those working in the entertainment industry should refuse to work with elephants.

He said, “Elephants belong in the wild. It is important for everyone to know that every single elephant you see begging on the streets, in temples, at wedding functions, at circuses or on joy rides have all been mistreated.”

“It might be your dream to ride elephants, but this is an elephant’s worst nightmare!” he sighed.
A well-known fact about elephants is that they have a superb memory. So how hard is it to get an ill-treated elephant back to normalcy?
Geeta said, “Building trust with elephants who have suffered great abuse by humans takes utmost patience and care.” She said that initially most elephants stay in a shell, but gradually develop a trust with the keepers.

The duo have launched a campaign called Refuse to Ride that aims at educating tourists and travellers on issues surrounding elephant rides.

The organisation has also rescued an elephant from Mumbai’s Mulund area.
“Laxmi (an elephant from Mulund) spent her days outside a temple, begging for alms. Devotees would hand-over money to her outstretched trunk, or give her a handful of oily, sugary prasad that she would quickly gobble up. The elephant progressively turned obese to the point where she could barely stand, showing signs of early arthritis,” said Seshamani.

Since she has been with Wildlife SOS, Laxmi has been put on a healthy well-balanced diet and a strict exercise regime consisting of long walks, and has lost considerable weight.

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Sidharth Malhotra visits Mathura elephant rescue centre

Bollywood actor Sidharth Malhotra on Monday extended his full support to elephant rescue efforts, after a visit to the rescue and rehabilitation centre run by Wildlife SOS. A special guest at 'Save the Elephant Day' celebrations at the centre, he expressed concern over the plight of Asian elephants.

Sidarth spent time with rescued elephants Laxmi, Maya and Phoolkali, feeding them fresh fruits - bananas, sugarcane, and watermelon. He also interacted with the veterinarians at the centre providing treatment to the elephants and learning about the status of Asian elephants in India.

The highlight of the visit however was his keen interest in Gajraj, the 70-year-old tusker rescued from Maharashtra's Satara.

Used in temple processions for over 51 years, the elephant was, with advancing age, found to be suffering from several medical issues like foot abscess, partial blindness etc.

Gajraj is now under lifetime care and treatment at Wildlife SOS's Elephant Conservation and Care Centre, which is home to over 20 elephants that were rescued from critical situations and are under rehabilitation now.

Several of these majestic animals have spent a majority of their lives doing hard work in harsh and cruel conditions, which in turn has taken a negative toll on them both physically and psychologically.

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Pharrell Williams visits Wildlife SOS Elephant centre in India to promote conservationv

Pharrell Williams interacted with the Wildlife SOS team of elephant care staff and veterinarians to understand the threats that Asian elephants face in India. (L-R) A portrait of rescued elephant Sanjay signed by Pharrell Williams; Pharrell Williams and wife Helen Lasichanh at the Wildlife SOS. (Source: Wildlife SOS)

Award-winning musician Pharrell Williams, who recently celebrated his first Holi in India, visited the Wildlife SOS-run Elephant Conservation and Care Center (ECCC) for a conservation education tour to meet rescued elephants and help promote elephant conservation in India. The centre is located near the Taj Mahal in Uttar Pradesh.

Williams interacted with the Wildlife SOS team of elephant care staff and veterinarians to understand the threats that Asian elephants face, while extending his support to elephant protection & conservation in India. The American singer-songwriter was in India to unveil a new ‘Holi-inspired’ apparel collection.

Geeta Seshamani, co-founder of Wildlife SOS welcomed the musician along with Dr Ilayaraja, Deputy Director Veterinary Division. Pharrell interacted with the team to learn about the history of Wildlife SOS and the background of the various elephants, followed by an interactive session with the elephant veterinarians and caretakers who shared insight about the organisation’s elephant protection efforts. Rescued from illegal captivity and circuses where they were ill-treated and subjected to cruelty, these gentle giants are now living a life of freedom under the care and treatment of expert veterinarians.

Talking about his experience with the elephants, Williams said, “Congratulations Wildlife SOS and good luck for the universal work that you do here and the effect you have on anyone who sees this!”

Seshamani said, “This visit by Pharrell Williams to the ECCC brings global attention to the plight of elephants in India. He was visibly moved by the story of the rescued elephants and what they had endured before they were rescued by Wildlife SOS. We hope for his continued support for the cause.”

Wildlife SOS runs the world’s Largest Sloth Bear rescue centre in Agra and an Elephant rescue centre in Mathura. The charity’s ECCC was established in 2010 in Mathura and provides critical medical treatment and lifetime care to 24 rescued elephants.

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Justin Trudeau India visit: Canadian PM visits Mathura wildlife sanctuary

Mathura District Magistrate S R Mishra and the SSP Police Swapnil accorded a warm welcome to the Trudeau along with Kartick Satyanarayan and Geeta Seshamani, founders of Wildlife SOS at the Elephant Conservation and Care Center.

 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday visited Mathura Wildlife SOS Elephant Conservation and Care Centre in Uttar Pradesh and interacted with the its founders and staff members. 

The wildlife sanctuary team discussed with the Canadian Prime Minister the need to create awareness about the plight of Asian elephants. Trudeau was accompanied by his wife and three children. Mathura District Magistrate S R Mishra and the SSP Police Swapnil accorded a warm welcome to the Trudeau along with Kartick Satyanarayan and Geeta Seshamani, founders of Wildlife SOS at the Elephant Conservation and Care Center. 

“It is a great honour for Wildlife SOS to have the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sparing his valuable time to see our efforts to protect elephants in collaboration with Forest Department. Our goal is to help conserve and protect elephants,” said Satyanarayan.

  Mishra said that it was an honour that the Prime Minister of Canada visited the Wildlife SOS Elephant Conservation and Care Center. 

“This center is a wonderful and unexplored area of Mathura. We hope his visit will attract more people to visite here,” he added. 

SSP Police Swapnil said that the police had learnt about the special request of the Canadian Prime Minister and made all arrangements to ensure his security during his visit to the Elephant Care Center in Mathura.

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Justin Trudeau India visit: Canadian PM visits Mathura wildlife sanctuary

Mathura District Magistrate S R Mishra and the SSP Police Swapnil accorded a warm welcome to the Trudeau along with Kartick Satyanarayan and Geeta Seshamani, founders of Wildlife SOS at the Elephant Conservation and Care Center.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday visited Mathura Wildlife SOS Elephant Conservation and Care Centre in Uttar Pradesh and interacted with the its founders and staff members. The wildlife sanctuary team discussed with the Canadian Prime Minister the need to create awareness about the plight of Asian elephants. Trudeau was accompanied by his wife and three children. Mathura District Magistrate S R Mishra and the SSP Police Swapnil accorded a warm welcome to the Trudeau along with Kartick Satyanarayan and Geeta Seshamani, founders of Wildlife SOS at the Elephant Conservation and Care Center. “It is a great honour for Wildlife SOS to have the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sparing his valuable time to see our efforts to protect elephants in collaboration with Forest Department. Our goal is to help conserve and protect elephants,” said Satyanarayan.

Mishra said that it was an honour that the Prime Minister of Canada visited the Wildlife SOS Elephant Conservation and Care Center. “This center is a wonderful and unexplored area of Mathura. We hope his visit will attract more people to visite here,” he added. SSP Police Swapnil said that the police had learnt about the special request of the Canadian Prime Minister and made all arrangements to ensure his security during his visit to the Elephant Care Center in Mathura.

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Elephant rescued from traffickers

AGRA: In a six-day rescue operation carried out by Wildlife SOS in collaboration with UP forest department and police personnel, a 44-year-old elephant was rescued from a group of wildlife traffickers.

The elephant had spent nearly four decades in illegal custody and was found to be suffering from chronic medical problems like progressive blindness, arthritis, degenerative joint disorder and foot issues — all pointing to severe neglect, lack of medical care and improper diet, according Wildlife SOS officials.

After several days of investigation, the chief wildlife warden, UP forest department, shifted the pachyderm to Wildlife SOS Elephant Care and Conservation Centre (ECCC) in Mathura where it will be under lifetime care and treatment.

"The forest officers were keeping tabs on movement of this elephant, called Priyanka, for nearly a year to gather evidence," said a member of the Wildlife SOS team.

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Elephant Who Spent Decades Giving Rides Has Best Response To Freedom

For the past 40 years, Priyanka the elephant has spent her days giving people rides through the city streets of India with a heavy seat strapped to her back.

With constant pressure on her spine and no shelter from the sun, Priyanka walked and walked every day with an aching back and feet burnt from the hot asphalt roads.

The 44-year-old elephant was also regularly rented out for parades, which forced her to march long distances among noisy spectators. As she walked along the routes, people would often startle her with loud music and firecrackers or even try to climb onto her as she passed.

Like many elephants taken from the wild to be used for entertainment, Priyanka never knew what it was like to be part of an elephant family — until now.

Wildlife SOS India learned of Priyanka’s plight over a year ago and has tracked her movements ever since — knowing that it was only a matter of time before the team could bring her to safety from her owner, who was keeping her illegally. The organization planned her rescue over the course of months, and the chance to save her finally presented itself last week.

“We immediately mobilized a rescue team to assist the local Forest Department in the area to conduct a daring seizure operation along with the local police department,” the rescue wrote in an update. “But even perfect opportunities can easily go wrong, and we had to keep everything on the down low for the safety of Priyanka and the amazing team that had gone out to rescue her.”

The team successfully seized Priyanka, though her previous owner tried to have the elephant returned to him — despite not having any valid ownership documents. But a few days later, with paperwork and permissions finalized, Priyanka was clear to go to her new home at Wildlife SOS’ Elephant Conservation and Care Center.

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Injured elephant calf at ICU of CWRC

An elephant calf, which suddenly fell down into a narrow drain at Mikirjan in a tea garden at Behora near Kaziranga National Park and rescued by its own mother, is now under the treatment of Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) under Wildlife Trust of India at Borjuri here. According to Dr Samsul Haque, attending veterinarian, even though the elephant calf was initially rescued by the mother elephant, but later in the evening it again fell down, only to be rescued by local people.

By that time, the calf visibly became very weak and the CWRC was accordingly informed about it.

The calf was then immediately brought to the CWRC and put under ICU treatment, said Dr Haque. But now the calf is showing a sign of slight improvement although it is not out of danger.

While talking about the problems being faced by elephant calves in tea gardens because of the existence of drainage system at the very corridors of wild animals, Dr Navin Pandey from Corbett Foundation felt that there is a need for meaningful talks between the officials of tea gardens and Forest Department to find out a solution to minimise the tragedy. Dr Pandey added that often the calves suffered more in many of the cases and, in some cases, the nature of the injuries remained fatal. He said that already the elephant corridors in the nation remained very fragmented, therefore the Government must initiate steps to keep the existing elephant corridors intact even if these corridors were inside the tea estates.

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Elephant fed on 200 vada pavs daily sheds 700 kg after rescue

Mumbai: Four years ago, when young Laxmi was rescued from begging outside temples in Mulund,
the 18-year-old could not walk properly and a crane had to lift her on to a truck for her journey to a new life. For, the elephant had been feeding on sugary prasad from temples and 200 vadapavs a day, and had become obese— at 5000 kgs, she was overweight by 1800 kgs. Laxmi’s companion elephant, suffering from similar health issues due to severe neglect, had collapsed and died in front of her eyes.

Today, she not only walks gleefully, but also plays in a pool and wallows in the mud as she has shed
700 kgs during her stay at Mathura’s Elephant Conservation and Care Center (ECCC) run by wildlife
conservation charity Wildlife SOS. She was put on a calibrated diet of green fodder and nutritious vegetables. The abscesses in her feet have now healed and Vitamin D3 supplements keep her arthritis in check.

“For a young elephant of 18 years, being 1,800-kg overweight could have severely impacted her ability to live,” said Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder of the conservation charity. Elephants life for 40 to 65 years.

“She had those mental scars (the companion’s death),” said Satyanarayan. “She was severely traumatised and frightened of other elephants too.” After four years of love and medical care, she has transformed into a gregarious and playful elephant. She is particularly fond of the bulls, and squeals with excitement whenever she smells or sights one of them while out on her walks. “She is the only one who squeals in this typical happy tone,” says Satyanarayan. She enjoys two walks every day with her friends– Bijli and Chanchal.

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