Wildlife SOS (elephants)

Visit beautiful India, but if you love elephants, please don’t ride them! Elephants used for tourist rides suffer extreme abuse throughout their lives. They’re beaten, chained, deprived of medical attention, starved, and kept from bonding with other elephants. Wildlife SOS knows YOU could never be a part of such a cruel practice! https://refusetoride.org/

Baby elephants are poached from the wild, isolated from their mothers, and bound and beaten for months until they’re so terrified of people they’ll do anything to avoid the abuse. This cruel practice even has a name, “phajaan,” or “breaking of the spirit.” Once their spirits are broken, they are traumatized, overworked, and seen only as money makers for decades. Wildlife SOS is committed to eradicating this abusive industry, and it starts with YOU! Wildlife SOS has saved many elephants used for entertainment!

We have rescued dozens of elephants from their abusive owners, so we’ve seen first hand the chronic untreated wounds, the osteoarthritis and debilitating injuries, the blindness, and elderly elephants forced to labour until their last breath. Elephants like Asha, Holly, Suman, Nut Herd, Mia and Rhea, Rajesh. Read their stories and see how they’re doing now!

https://wildlifesos.org/our-work/elephants/

Hailing from the rich cultural heritage town of Puttukottai in Tamil Nadu, Dr. Ilayaraja Selvaraj has been an integral part of the Wildlife SOS family for the past 18 years. He is presently the Deputy Director of Veterinary Operations and Research at Wildlife SOS. Dr. Ilayaraja’s unmatched zeal and his larger-than-life attitude make him one of the most inspirational individuals to be around!

In an exclusive conversation with him, we learn more about what inspired him to become a wildlife veterinarian and all the challenges he faced. Dr. Ilayaraja graduated from the Madras Veterinary College in Chennai, India and was determined to not let his life set into a monotonous routine of a 9 to 5 job. He joined Wildlife SOS in 2004 when the organization was in the process of rescuing sloth bears from the barbaric dancing bears tradition. At that point, sloth bears with mutilated, deformed muzzles required urgent medical treatment and Dr. Ilayaraja played a crucial role in liberating them from the painful ropes and helping them embark on their healing journey.

From a cobra with a severe mouth infection to an elephant who was a victim of a tragic road accident, Dr. Ilayaraja has years of experience in treating any animal that comes to Wildlife SOS in critical conditions. He has successfully treated pelicans with ruptured neck and oesophagus due to choking on large fish, hyenas with ruptured eyeballs and fractured skulls, peacocks with severe eye infection and even porcupines that are found in unconscious, comatose conditions among many, many others!

https://wildlifesos.org/chronological-news/staff-profile-of-the-month-dr-ilayaraja/

Nocturnal in nature, leopards can seldom be spotted in the broad daylight sprawled in open fields, unless they have been ill or rendered hurt. A sight similar to this was observed by the residents of a village in Yawal sub-division of Jalgaon district in Maharashtra, when they were left bewildered upon spotting a leopard in the middle of the field during the day. Understanding the dangers of approaching or disturbing a wild animal, the residents immediately reached out to the Maharashtra Forest Department and informed them about the presence of the recumbent leopard.

The leopard’s unusual behavior was of particular concern as it appeared weak and thus, was immobile. Working closely with Wildlife SOS, the Maharashtra Forest Department reached out to our leopard team operating out of the Leopard Rescue Centre in Junnar division for assistance. When the officials reached the field where the leopard was, they learnt that the leopard was, indeed, severely dehydrated and weak.

https://wildlifesos.org/chronological-news/ailing-adult-leopard-returns-back-to-the-wild/