These images tell the story of an elephant that was abused, spending almost 50 years in chains! He would have died never knowing freedom but thankfully he was rescued.
It is not uncommon for these beautiful animals to get abused as shown in this video we recently posted. Thankfully there are organisations such as wildlifesos.org that does a great job rescuing animals like Raju, looking after them for the rest of their lives.
An elephant’s brain is similar to that of humans in terms of structure and complexity—such as the elephant’s cortex having as many neurons as a human brain. They are very intelligent beings and have a wide variety of behaviors, including those associated with grief, learning, allomothering, mimicry, play, altruism, use of tools, compassion, cooperation,self-awareness, memory, and language.
These animals deserve a lot more respect!
Raju lived in India, where he survived off handouts from passing tourists, and sometimes would eat plastic and paper to fill his empty stomach.
![Elephant Cries Tears of Joy After Being Rescued From 50 Years of Suffering and Abuse]()
But thankfully after 50 years of being held in chains, beaten, and abused, Raju has been saved by a charity in a daring midnight rescue operation.
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On Thursday at midnight in the Uttar Pradesh area of India, North London-based charity Wildlife SOS freed Raju in an operation that moved Raju the elephant to tears.
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Here is Raju crying when he was rescued
![Elephant Cries Tears of Joy After Being Rescued From 50 Years of Suffering and Abuse]()
![Elephant Cries Tears of Joy After Being Rescued From 50 Years of Suffering and Abuse]()
Elephants have a huge hippocampus, a brain structure in the limbic system of the brain that’s important for processing emotions.Elephants are deeply emotional and intelligent and exhibit a wide variety of behaviors, including those associated with grief, self-awareness, memory, and language.
The charity’s U.K. spokeswoman Pooja Binepal said the team were astounded to see tears roll down his face during the rescue. She added: “It was so incredibly emotional for all of us. We knew in our hearts he realised he was being freed.”
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Pooja explained that they believed he was poached. “The poachers either slaughter the mother, or they drive the herd into traps that are small enough only for the babies to fall into. The mother cries for her baby for days after he’s been stolen — it is a sickening trade.”
The rescue team worried that Raju’s owner would flee. Raju’s owner even tried to prevent the rescue, shouting commands to terrify Raju.
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But the rescue team didn’t give up. Wildlife SOS founder Kartick Satyanarayan said: “We stood our ground and refused to back down — and as we did so, tears began to roll down Raju’s face.”
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He added: “Some tears no doubt were due to the pain being inflicted by the chains, but he also seemed to sense that change was coming. It was as if he felt hope for the first time in a very long time.”
Raju stepped out of the truck and took his first step to freedom at one minute past midnight on July 4, which Katrick said “felt so extraordinarily fitting.”
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The charity has since launched a campaign to raise £10,000 to begin the start of his new life in a new enclosure that will allow him to roam with his adoptive family.
SOURCE
It is not uncommon for these beautiful animals to get abused as shown in this video we recently posted. Thankfully there are organisations such as wildlifesos.org that does a great job rescuing animals like Raju, looking after them for the rest of their lives.
An elephant’s brain is similar to that of humans in terms of structure and complexity—such as the elephant’s cortex having as many neurons as a human brain. They are very intelligent beings and have a wide variety of behaviors, including those associated with grief, learning, allomothering, mimicry, play, altruism, use of tools, compassion, cooperation,self-awareness, memory, and language.
These animals deserve a lot more respect!
Raju lived in India, where he survived off handouts from passing tourists, and sometimes would eat plastic and paper to fill his empty stomach.
But thankfully after 50 years of being held in chains, beaten, and abused, Raju has been saved by a charity in a daring midnight rescue operation.
On Thursday at midnight in the Uttar Pradesh area of India, North London-based charity Wildlife SOS freed Raju in an operation that moved Raju the elephant to tears.
Here is Raju crying when he was rescued
Elephants have a huge hippocampus, a brain structure in the limbic system of the brain that’s important for processing emotions.Elephants are deeply emotional and intelligent and exhibit a wide variety of behaviors, including those associated with grief, self-awareness, memory, and language.
The charity’s U.K. spokeswoman Pooja Binepal said the team were astounded to see tears roll down his face during the rescue. She added: “It was so incredibly emotional for all of us. We knew in our hearts he realised he was being freed.”
Pooja explained that they believed he was poached. “The poachers either slaughter the mother, or they drive the herd into traps that are small enough only for the babies to fall into. The mother cries for her baby for days after he’s been stolen — it is a sickening trade.”
The rescue team worried that Raju’s owner would flee. Raju’s owner even tried to prevent the rescue, shouting commands to terrify Raju.
But the rescue team didn’t give up. Wildlife SOS founder Kartick Satyanarayan said: “We stood our ground and refused to back down — and as we did so, tears began to roll down Raju’s face.”
He added: “Some tears no doubt were due to the pain being inflicted by the chains, but he also seemed to sense that change was coming. It was as if he felt hope for the first time in a very long time.”
Raju stepped out of the truck and took his first step to freedom at one minute past midnight on July 4, which Katrick said “felt so extraordinarily fitting.”
SOURCE