There is much humans can learn from animals.
Raju the elephant was kept in chains for 50 years, passed from owner to owner and always treated very poorly. On July 2nd, a rescue organization based in India, Wildlife SOS hosted an operation to rescue Raju the elephant from his captors.
When Raju was being rescued, his captors were even trying to provoke him to become aggressive in order to ruin the rescue operation. My question – why? Why was it so important for his captors to imprison and torture him?
Thankfully, the rescue operation was successful. However, Raju the elephant was extremely weak and malnourished. His new caretakers even reported seeing tears in his eyes. Tears of gratitude, relief, and years of pain rolled into one emotional release.
“Raju was 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.” Pooja Binepal, a member of Wildlife SOS, told The Mirror.
On July 4(Independence Day in the US, fittingly enough), Raju took his first steps since being rescued. Thank goodness for the brave rescuers that gave Raju a second chance at a happy life.
If you feel strongly about this story, you can donate to Wildlife SOS here.
