Rescued From 50 Years Of Begging And Abuse, This Elephant Is Finally Getting To Enjoy Her Life
For many years, Phoolkali was living a life of slavery, suffering and abuse, as a begging elephant on the streets of Agra, Uttar Pradesh.For nearly 50 years, her daily routine involved begging and walking on the hot tarred roads for hours at a stretch.?
The years of mistreatment, abuse and inadequate care left her in a sorry state with severe wear and tear of her delicate footpads due to walking on the road and several medical issues like abscesses, infected wounds.?
But life changed for her in 2012 when the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department and wildlife conservation NGO Wildlife SOS successfully rescued Phoolkali.?
When Wildlife SOS rescued Phoolkali in 2012, she was weak, her spine was distinctively sticking out showing signs of malnutrition and improper care. But today, she is a healthy, happy elephant enjoying her life at the Elephant Conservation & Care Centre, Mathura along with other elephants who also have similar horror stories.?
"Phoolkali was used as a begging elephant for over 50 years. After this was alerted to the Forest Department, we along with them rescued her and brought her to our facility. When we rescued her Phoolkali was in a sorry state, was dehydrated, had several injuries and was traumatized," Arinita Sandilya, Press Officer of Wildlife SOS explained.?
At the facility, Phoolkali was given treatment for her foot and other injuries. Over the years Phoolkali has made a near-full recovery, both mentally and physically. And today she has regained her confidence and she is the tallest female elephant at the centre and weighs a healthy 4500 kilograms!?
"Years of neglect and abuse had a detrimental effect on Phoolkali's health and it has taken a long time for her to recover. As part of her on-going treatment, Phoolkali gets relaxing medicated footbaths, her overgrown footpads are trimmed regularly, and she is on a nutritious, healthy diet," Dr. Yaduraj Khadpekar, Senior Veterinarian, Wildlife SOS, said.?
It wasn't just her physical health that was severely compromised but also her mental well-being.?
"When she was brought to us Phoolkali was very scared and restless. But the care and interaction with other elephants at the facility helped her to regain her strength both mentally and physically," Sandilya said.?
Today the 63-year-old is a totally different animal, who enjoys her day with the heard, which includes Maya, who was rescued from a circus in 2010. The two elephants have grown inseparable over time and have helped each other overcome their history of abuse and trauma.?
Phoolkali enjoys taking long walks to the Yamuna riverside, which is located close to the rescue centre and spends hours playing in the river with Maya.?
In all her years in captivity, Phoolkali had never been in the water but shortly after her arrival at the Wildlife SOS centre, she discovered the joys of soaking in the refreshing pool in her enclosure. She's been a 'water baby' ever since and the time she spends in the river also helps take the massive weight off her feet and relaxes her muscles.?
"Sometimes it's hard to imagine the amount of pain and loneliness Phoolkali had to endure for so many years. Elephants are highly intelligent, social beings and form extremely strong familial bonds with one another, both in the wild and in captivity. Being separated from the herd can be immensely stressful and traumatic for an elephant. It makes me very happy to see the bond of trust and friendship between Phoolkali and Maya," Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder and CEO Wildlife SOS said.?
Elephants are herd animals and spent a lot of time walking, covering kilometers at a stretch in the wild.While elephants like Phoolkali and Maya who lived most of their life in captivity cannot go back to being wild elephants as they have become so dependent on humans, at the Elephant Conservation and Care Centre they get to walk and daily visits to the River Yamuna, where they get to spend a lot of time, relaxing.
"Most of these elephants are either born in captivity or patched at a young age. So they don't know their natural instincts. But with captive elephants, they are dependent on humans. We would love to see them go back to the wild, but they won't be able to survive there. With any rescued animal there is a process of unlearning and relearning their instincts. In our center, we encourage them to walk and swim. We try to give them an environment that is as close as to their natural surroundings," Sandilya explained.
