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An elephant that was kept in chains for 50 years and abused by a drug addict who used the animal to beg has been freed.
Raju had been beaten and starved since being poached from the wild as a baby and resorted to eating paper and plastic to fill his stomach.
The chains and spikes wrapped around his legs had left him with chronic wounds and arthritis and he was in almost constant pain.
But now he is walking free for the first time after a daring rescue by conservationists with a court order by the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department to take the elephant from his abusive owner.
The charity took Raju in the middle of the night on Thursday, supported by police and state officials.
The elephant's mahout and previous owner tried to stop him being taken by adding more chains and having people block the roads for the rescue lorry.
Experts worked for hours to gain the elephant's trust with fruit and encouragement until they could get him into the van that would take him to a sanctuary.
When Raju was being rescued, volunteers said they saw tears rolling down his face.
Pooja Binepal, from Wildlife SOS UK, said: "The team were astounded to see tears roll down his face during the rescue. It was so incredibly emotional for all of us.
"We knew in our hearts he realized he was being freed.
"Elephants are not only majestic, but they are highly intelligent animals, who have been proven to have feelings of grief, so we can only imagine what torture half a century has been like for him."
Kartick Satyanarayan, the charity's co-founder, said the mahout tried to make the elephant charge by shouting commands.
He added: "We stood our ground and refused to back down - and as we did so, tears began to roll down Raju's face.
"Some 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."
Almost two days later and 350 miles away in Mathura, the chains were removed after 45 painstaking minutes.
A video showed the moment they cut the painful spikes and chains binding the animal's legs so he could walk freely for the first time.
Satyanarayan said: "We all had tears in our eyes as the last rope which held the final spike was cut and Raju took his first steps of freedom."
Other elephants at the Conservation and Care Centre at Mathura came to watch the new arrival.
He is being fed to restore him to a healthy weight and vets are treating his many wounds and abscesses from beatings and chains.
Rescuers at Wildlife SOS believe Raju started life in the wild but was caught as a baby by poachers and sold as a working elephant.
Binepal said: "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 calves are then tied and beaten until they submit to their owners - their spirits are effectively broken."
source: Free at last: Elephant 'cries' while being rescued after 50 years of abuse and being kept in chains in UP - The Times of India
Raju had been beaten and starved since being poached from the wild as a baby and resorted to eating paper and plastic to fill his stomach.
The chains and spikes wrapped around his legs had left him with chronic wounds and arthritis and he was in almost constant pain.
But now he is walking free for the first time after a daring rescue by conservationists with a court order by the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department to take the elephant from his abusive owner.
The charity took Raju in the middle of the night on Thursday, supported by police and state officials.
The elephant's mahout and previous owner tried to stop him being taken by adding more chains and having people block the roads for the rescue lorry.
Experts worked for hours to gain the elephant's trust with fruit and encouragement until they could get him into the van that would take him to a sanctuary.
When Raju was being rescued, volunteers said they saw tears rolling down his face.
Pooja Binepal, from Wildlife SOS UK, said: "The team were astounded to see tears roll down his face during the rescue. It was so incredibly emotional for all of us.
"We knew in our hearts he realized he was being freed.
"Elephants are not only majestic, but they are highly intelligent animals, who have been proven to have feelings of grief, so we can only imagine what torture half a century has been like for him."
Kartick Satyanarayan, the charity's co-founder, said the mahout tried to make the elephant charge by shouting commands.
He added: "We stood our ground and refused to back down - and as we did so, tears began to roll down Raju's face.
"Some 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."
Almost two days later and 350 miles away in Mathura, the chains were removed after 45 painstaking minutes.
A video showed the moment they cut the painful spikes and chains binding the animal's legs so he could walk freely for the first time.
Satyanarayan said: "We all had tears in our eyes as the last rope which held the final spike was cut and Raju took his first steps of freedom."
Other elephants at the Conservation and Care Centre at Mathura came to watch the new arrival.
He is being fed to restore him to a healthy weight and vets are treating his many wounds and abscesses from beatings and chains.
Rescuers at Wildlife SOS believe Raju started life in the wild but was caught as a baby by poachers and sold as a working elephant.
Binepal said: "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 calves are then tied and beaten until they submit to their owners - their spirits are effectively broken."
source: Free at last: Elephant 'cries' while being rescued after 50 years of abuse and being kept in chains in UP - The Times of India
