The Real-Life “Dumbo” Baby Elephant should be sent to Elephant Sanctuary, Elephant protection campaign gets a ‘Gatimaan’ push & Kalpana , Luna, Holly, Asha, Fuko are in this Week's 'Elephant in the Room'!

Kalpana is exploring and getting familiar with her now home at the Field of Dreams. Today she very happily went for a stroll near the river and couldn't resist taking a dip!

The poaching of wild elephants for captivity is not only unimaginably cruel to the individual elephants poached, it severely threatens the future of elephants in India. Following the capture from their natural habitat, abuse and suffering become an everyday life occurrence for these captive elephants.

Kalpana’s story is representative of the life of many begging elephants in India, whose owners view them only as money-making machines. Kalpana was a victim of this cruel commercial exploitation, and has been left with a lifetime of painful disabilities at the young age of just 35 to 40 years.

Life for Kalpana was a long continuous nightmare, from which she had no respite in sight. There was always more money to be earned, more places to be begged at and more processions to attend. Every ounce of strength that she had in her had a monetary value. Every day after a torturous session where her master would paint designs on her trunk, her strenuous routine of navigating through towns and villages to beg for alms would begin. It did not matter if walking on hot concrete were damaging her feet or if the sharp stones were leaving her with painful wounds, for if she resisted, she knew the consequence would be dire. Kalpana had learnt from a young age that if she expressed pain, she would be punished with even more pain.
Co-founder Kartick Satyanaryan befriending Kalpana before attempting to load her on the ambulance.

This complete submission of Kalpana was a boon for her owner: he could make her work as much as he liked. Even after a long, tiring day, Kalpana was booked to go to weddings, religious ceremonies and processions. Jam-packed spaces and blaring sounds from the loud-speakers would add to her mental stress.

About half a year ago, Kalpana was adorned with heavy decorations to “grace” a wedding. The drill was simple: Kalpana would walk to the venue, stand there as people took photos of her, and then be walked back to wherever her keeper liked. However, things took a horrible turn that day. Under the influence of alcohol, Kalpana’s keeper made her step into a ditch. The uneven ground, coupled with the weight of the decorations over her, caused Kalpana to lose balance and injure her right front leg. However, instead of receiving immediate veterinary attention, her owner and keepers brushed the injury aside, deeming it nothing too serious. The owner was ready with his arsenal of tools to keep her walking. He would not shy away from poking the bull-hook behind her sensitive ears and/or poking it on her body. Despite the excruciating pain that she was in, Kalpana walked for hours and hours. Her painful injury never healed properly, and it subsequently led to the fusing of the joint in her front leg.
Kalpana very cooperatively stepped onto the ambulance to embark on a kinder future.

The world was literally a dark place for her: she is completely blind in her left eye and her right eye too has started to cloud. The only way she could navigate through her surroundings was through her strong sense of touch. For nearly four decades, there was nowhere she found comfort and repose. In fact, with every change of hands, a fresh new bout of cruelty came along. Kalpana was yet to meet kind hands. Hands that would understand her plight and put her misery to an end.
The journey to the WSOS Elephant Hospital lasted nearly 4 hours.

When our team found Kalpana in Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh, they saw this neglected pachyderm walking on tarred roads in the blazing sun, with her keepers sitting atop her. She was a sorry sight as she was wobbling to balance the weight on her back while walking with a stiff wrist. Her nails were overgrown and cracking, while her foot-pads appeared to be thinning. In fact, as she was eating the dirt and mud surrounding her, our team suspected that perhaps her gut was host to worms. Her sunken temples indicated that she was dehydrated as well. She needed urgent help and we worked quickly to bring it to her.
Kalpana arrived at the WSOS Elephant Hospital early in the morning.

The Wildlife SOS Elephant Ambulance was en-route to bring Kalpana to the Wildlife SOS Elephant Hospital on the evening of March 31st, 2019. The ambulance was packed with watermelons, pumpkins, ripened bananas and sugarcane for dear Kalpana. The team comprised of our keepers, veterinarians and our co-founder Kartick Satyanarayan, who reached the site at midnight.

Kalpana was extremely calm and cooperative throughout the process of loading her onto the ambulance in the middle of an open field, as the keepers quickly found out that she had a soft spot for ripened bananas. Once loaded onto the truck, Kalpana’s journey towards a kinder future lasted nearly 4 hours, and she arrived at the breaking of dawn on the 1st of April.
Kalpana enjoying a serving of soft green fodder inside the WSOS Elephant Hospital.

At the WSOS Elephant Hospital, Kalpana will be subjected to a series of physical and serological examinations to better assess her health status. Following this, our team of veterinarians will develop an intensive treatment plan for her.

From the bottom of our hearts, we want to thank all our supporters who stood by Kalpana throughout this journey.
Elephant protection campaign gets a ‘Gatimaan’ push

Express train joins hands with Wildlife SOS to promte responsible tourism, prevent animal abuse. India’s semi-high-speed train Gatimaan Express that ferries nearly 45,000 tourists between Delhi and Jhansi every month is now actively promoting elephant protection in partnership with Wildlife SOS.

Seats on the train now carry the message “Joyrides on elephants is elephant abuse”. Also, the breakfast trays carry a message about “responsible tourism” and how a conscious choice made by each tourist can help prevent elephant poaching and their abuse in captivity.

“Wildlife SOS launched the first phase of its outdoor media campaign as part of its efforts to spread the message of ‘Refuse to Ride’ and open the eyes of the public to the harsh realities surrounding elephant poaching and traditional methods that involve training elephants for tourist rides by using painful and cruel methods,” noted a released issued by the organisation.

The ‘Golden Triangle’ of Agra, Jaipur and Delhi forms a popular tourist route and Wildlife SOS said that it has taken up the task of educating tourists about the choices they must make between responsible tourism and one that promotes elephant abuse. Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder and CEO of Wildlife SOS, said: “For many tourists travelling to India, taking an elephant ride tops their bucket list of must-have experiences. But most people are not aware of the harsh reality behind how elephants are tamed and the horrific abuse they have to endure to be trained for giving rides.”

Home to Asian elephants
He added that India is home to 50% of the world’s Asian elephant population. “There is a need to protect their population in the wild. If we reduce the demand for elephants for joyrides and in temples, these animals will remain safe in the wild,” he said.

“Oil or paint is smeared on wounds [of elephants] to conceal the scars from tourists. Intricately painted designs on the elephants act as clever distractions to keep tourists from discovering the dark truth behind the ‘joyrides’. Sadly, all this is done by people to exploit elephants and fool tourists who out of ignorance are misled into paying big bucks for rides,” noted the release.

Last year, the Animal Welfare Board of India, Ministry of the Environment and Forests, published a shocking report about the dire conditions of the elephants used for tourist rides at Amer Fort. Mr. Satyanarayan explained that it is in light of the AWBI report that Wildlife SOS launched its ‘Refuse to Ride’ campaign.

Geeta Seshamani, co-founder and secretary of Wildlife SOS, said: “It might be your dream to ride elephants, but this is an elephant’s worst nightmare. If one sees the cruel and painful training that an elephant calf is subjected to make the animal rideable, I don’t think anyone will want to ride an elephant ever again.”

It is the demand from tourists for animal entertainment that is keeping this grotesque industry alive, said experts. “If tourists stop riding elephants, their abuse and exploitation will stop. As long as there are huge profits to be made by exploiting animals, the abuse of elephants in tourism and entertainment industry will continue,” said Baiju Raj, director, conservation projects, Wildlife SOS.

India has only 22,000 to 25,000 elephants left in the wild. You can sign ‘Refuse to Ride’ petition at https://bit.ly/2MMannH.

Send “Dumbo” the Real-Life Performing Baby Elephant to a Sanctuary
A baby elephant at Phuket Zoo in Thailand is forced to perform three times a day for visitors. She is forced to perform unnatural tricks like raving to music, playing instruments, and more. Her body also appears skeletal which shows signs of possible malnourishment. She’s even been seen sucking on her trunk for comfort while standing on display for tourists. This is a sign of distress seen in infant elephants when not with their mothers. Moving Animals has photos and videos that show her plight. Sign the petition to save this baby elephant, nicknamed Dumbo, from a life of exploitation in a place like this.

Save Fuko, Elephant Who’s Been Trapped Alone For 10 Years

Lonely Fuko has been trapped Alone for 10 Years. Please help her have a better life! For 25 years, Fuko had a companion named Dumbo at the Nagano Chasuyama Zoo in Japan. Even though they were held captive in a small enclosure, they at least had each other. But Fuko has now been alone since 2008, and is visibly depressed. To cope with her boredom and loneliness, she repeats the same pacing patterns over and over in her small enclosure.

Elephants are social, caring animals and it’s completely cruel and unnatural for them to be confined to such a small space alone all the time. Please sign this petition to try to save Fuko so that she may be saved from this lonely life and hopefully sent to an elephant sanctuary!

Ask Natural Bridge Zoo to Send Lonely, Abused Asha to a Sanctuary
Asha has spent the last 31 years at Natural Bridge Zoo completely alone. In the heat and humidity, she is forced to give rides to visitors, and when she isn’t doing that, she is in a tiny barren paddock all alone. She has no shade, pool, or toys. Asha just rocks back and forth out of boredom and depression. When the zoo is closed to visitors during the winter, she is left in a damp, cold barn with a concrete floor. In the wild, elephants live with their community and roam for miles. Sign this petition demanding that she be sent to a sanctuary where she can roam acres of natural habitat, play, forage, and be with other elephants.
There was an unusual storm at night on the 30th of March. Strong, dust-laden winds knocked on every door and window. It seemed as if the sky was angry, for the lightning was ferocious enough to make every living person stop in their tracks and wonder, “Is everything okay?” Perhaps the winds were merely the harbinger of the news that Luna’s last breaths were close at hand.
Luna embarking on her journey to the WSOS Elephant Hospital.

From the little time that Luna spent with us, we knew that life had been immensely painful for her. While we can never fathom the mental trauma that she endured as a calf when she was ripped from her mother, we knew that her adulthood, too, was marked with trauma at every step and turn. When our team first met her, they were moved by the dull aura that Luna had about her. She was always fixated in one place, not even making a single sound. Luna’s stature seemed to be bending inward as if indicating that the mere weight of existence was too much for her to bear. With every part of her body riddled with ailments, it appeared as if she was fighting a tough battle all alone.
Luna suffered a bout of pain in her hind legs during her journey to the WSOS Elephant Hospital.

This battered pachyderm needed our help, and we mobilised quickly to get help to her. After nearly five decades of torture and negligence, Luna’s delicate feet were failing her and getting the best of her. Her pain was a shadow that followed her everywhere. Many times, Luna would lay down to rest only to not be able to get up for many hours as her severely arthritic limbs would ache just too much. Right before she was being loaded onto the Wildlife SOS Elephant Ambulance, her feet gave away and a crane had to be mobilised to help her back on her feet. Yet Luna stepped onto the ambulance in anticipation of a kinder, healing future and moved us all with her strong determination and courage. Luna arrived at the Wildlife SOS Elephant Hospital on the 31st of January, during the wee hours of the morning and new dawn broke in her life.
Luna and Holly enjoying a calm moment together.

Luna was quick to accept her new home. Perhaps her strong sense of hearing quickly told her that there was a companion awaiting her next door. The two elephants clicked instantly and naturally like it was always meant to be. Perhaps the two friends understood the scars from each other’s past in a way that no human could. During lazy afternoons, Luna and Holly would simply stand next to each other under a tree. Holly would delicately run her trunk over Luna, as their stomachs rumbled softly. Holly’s enthusiasm would even coax Luna to explore her surroundings, and the two friends would eat fruits and vegetables standing right next to each other. Reassurances from Holly strengthened Luna’s spirit and helped her become just an elephant.
Luna enjoying a refreshing shower with her keeper.

Her keeper, too, would go an extra mile to make sure that Luna got all the comfort possible. Under his dedicated care, Luna started to let go of her apprehensions. We soon found out that Luna was a complete water baby; she thoroughly enjoyed being hosed down with fresh, cool water. As her keeper scrubbed her body to remove dirt from her wounds, Luna would take the hosepipe in her trunk to collect water in her trunk and splash it all over herself and her keeper. Luna would then always finish off her showers with an earthy ritual of sprinkling a trunkful of dust all over herself. In fact, Luna thoroughly enjoyed the dust that surrounded her at her new home, and could always be spotted giving herself seemingly cathartic dust baths.
Luna resting on her mud beds.

At the back of our mind, our concern for Luna never subsided, and we were always acutely aware of the pain that she was in. Our efforts to treat her chronic ulceration, severe arthritis and oedema continued, with our dedicated team working round the clock. Luna had several bad days due to her weak feet, which would render her unable to get up after lying down. Her strong and determined spirit would make her want to use all of her strength to get up at once, but this would also exhaust her quickly. In these moments, Luna’s keeper would never leave her side and was always there with comforting and reassuring words that it would all be fine. He made sure that Luna got ample time to rest and relax her mind before any attempts were made to lift her with a crane. These instances assured Luna that it was okay to take a moment and rest, and not stress out. Slowly, this helped build Luna’s confidence and she gradually started to get up on her own. This gave us a sense of hope and made us proud of the fighter that Luna was.

But maybe, some days are simply too bad. During the early morning hours on the 21st of March, Luna’s keeper found that she was having trouble getting up. He quickly alerted the team, who soon mobilised the crane to give her external help. But the pain in her arthritic hind legs was much too great and she was unable to bear weight. It was important to let her rest, and with the help of a crane, our team laid her in a comfortable position on the mud bed. The veterinary team administered her with pain killers in the hope that it would help Luna become comfortable. Her keeper was by her side feeding Luna her favourite cucumbers and softly calling out to her. When the next attempt to help her stand failed, our team realised that perhaps Luna was now living her final days. Holly, too, sensed something was amiss as she walked past Luna’s enclosure, and let out a soft wail. She proceeded to stand under their tree like she had every day in anticipation of her friend’s arrival.
Luna’s keeper was by her side in her last moments.

Our team stood by Luna throughout and worked day and night to make her last days as easy as possible. Luna’s keeper hand-fed her favourite treats- cucumbers, papaya and watermelons every day, and electrolytes were administered to keep her hydrated. Big rubber tubes were adjusted under her so that her chronic ulcers did not add to her pain and to prevent her from developing any new injuries. Luna’s appetite slowly decreased as her breaths became louder and slower. Luna died in her sleep in the morning of 31st of March. Her burial was simple, yet profound. The team who had cared for her during her short stay at the Field of Dreams laid flowers and garlands at the site and observed a two-minute silence.
Luna’s keeper paying his respects to at her burial site.

For the short, while that Luna was with us, she touched us with her gentleness and her heart full of forgiveness. We will all miss her, especially her friend Holly who still searches for her under their favourite tree. There is some comfort in knowing that she died surrounded by love and that though we couldn’t give her more time, her last several weeks were more peaceful and joyful than any that she’d experienced before. We have been left with a void and an inspiration to work harder.

May you rest in peace, dear Luna.

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The Sustainable Action Network (SAN), a Don Lichterman non-profit organization dedicated to building a global community raising awareness of corruption, injustice and the need for action across a full range of issues impacting people and animal/wildlife welfare around the world, such as conservation, climate change, campaign law, lobbying, government action and rescue work. SAN’s vision is to create safer world, free from political, environmental, and social oppression, where all the inhabitants of Earth can live in harmony within their own natural environments.


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