This tragic tale centers on the Indian elephant Raju, who had a life of
extreme hardship. After being kidnapped from his mother, he was passed from
one owner to another, eventually being abandoned to live in appalling
conditions without shelter at night and serve as a prop for beggars during
the day. Raju was chained 24 hours a day and only received food from passing
visitors, occasionally having to eat plastic and paper. According to
boredpanda, the wildlife organization SOS-UK decided to save him in a risky
nighttime rescue mission because they could not bear the injustice.
The elephant began to cry when he realized he was being saved: "It was
quite emotional. In an interview with Presspeople, one of the rescuers,
Pooja Binepal, claimed, "We knew in our hearts he realized he was being
liberated. Raju's cheeks started to well up with tears. Some of these were
undoubtedly brought on by the agony, but he also appeared to detect a shift
in the air. He had hope for the first time," adds Kartick, another
rescuer.
Raju spent his entire existence in prison amusing visitors and the company
of his owner. He shed joyful tears when he realized that his agony will soon
be gone.
Elephants have a considerably larger hippocampus than any human being, a
brain region associated with emotion. The idea that elephants cry out as a
result of emotion is supported by scientific study, albeit we cannot be
positive of this.
He was chained for 50 years, occasionally needing to eat paper and plastic
to keep his stomach full.
Raju was thankfully saved by Wildlife SOS UK in a daring midnight rescue
mission after years of suffering.
The owner of Raju made an effort to obstruct the rescue by tying shackles
to his legs and yelling instructions to scare him. The rescuers, though,
held firm. Raju's face started to tear up while they were doing this. For
the first time, he had hope, said Kartrick.
It took 45 minutes to finally free him since the shackles were so tightly
coiled.
Brave rescuers transported Raju 350 kilometres to the refuge from the
charity's Elephant Conservation and Care Centre in Mathura.
The elephant could hardly move because he was so worn out.
On July 4, at one minute after midnight, Raju took his first steps toward
freedom and experienced what freedom is like.
Raju will live for the remainder of his days without experiencing any pain,
according to the organization.
We are extremely happy Raju is secure.
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animals