Raju The Elephant Cries Tears Of Relief After Release From 50 Years Of Brutal Captivity [Watch]

Raju the elephant was kept in chains, beaten, and abused for 50 years. His misery was brought to an end by the brave actions of members of a London-based charity, Wildlife SOS.

As his spiked shackles were being cut off, he appeared to cry in relief, and, according to a graphic report in the Daily Mail, tears were seen streaming down his cheeks.

Raju’s Indian owner used the animal to beg for money by holding out its trunk to passers-by. But, he made no effort to care for Raju, not even providing food. The animal existed on a diet of plastic and paper!

However, last week, Ruju’s suffering ended when a team of vets and wildlife experts from the charity, together with 20 forestry department officers and six policemen, seized Raju in the Uttar Pradesh area of India.

The operation took place at night so fewer people would be around, and the animal could be protected from the heat of the sun.

Pooja Binepal, speaking on behalf of the charity, described the rescue as “incredibly emotional.”

She added:

“Raju has spent the past 50 years living a pitiful existence in chains 24 hours a day, an act of intolerable cruelty.

“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. Until we stepped in he’d never known what it is like to walk free of his shackles — it’s a truly pitiful case.

“But today he knows what freedom is and he will learn what kindness feels like and what it’s like to not suffer any more.”

The charity was able to carry out the rescue, following a year of battling in the Indian courts, because the owner could not produce any documents proving ownership.

The charity thinks that Raju was poached from his mother as a young calf. Ms. 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. We discovered Raju’s case was particularly tragic. He’d been poached as a calf and then he has been sold on and sold on. Incredibly we believe he has had up to 27 owners — he’s been treated as a commodity every two years of his life.”

The team led by Wildlife SOS founder Kartick Satyanarayan carried out two days of surveillance before launching the rescue. On Thursday evening, as they began the rescue effort, Raju’s owner attempted to stop them. Mr. Satyanarayan said:

“He began to shout commands to terrify Raju — and try to provoke him. It created an incredibly dangerous situation as a bull elephant could snap a human like a tooth pick if he becomes afraid or angry.

“When that failed he then put a series of chains around his legs in an attempt to prevent us removing him — so viciously tight that were cutting into his legs.

“But 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.”

After Raju had been safely transported to the animal sanctuary and given real food, and a good bath, Mr Satyanarayan said, “It will be a long rehabilitation process, but we will teach him that humans don’t mean pain and brutality, but it’s going to take time.”

The charity has now launched a campaign to raise $15,000 to help Raju adapt to his new life of freedom.

Hopefully, this elephant will never have to cry again — unless it’s tears of joy.

[Images: Press People]