It’s estimated that within the next ten years, African elephants will go extinct. To protect the beautiful, wise, and intelligent creatures, activists have gone to great lengths to deter and capture poachers who are intent on killing them, as well as rhinos, in the wild. Now, a group of compassionate activists is knitting sweaters for the large land mammals in India to keep them cozy and to show love.
According to Wildlife SOS Elephant Conservation and Care Center, a cold front is moving across northern India and everyone is beginning to feel the chill – including wildlife. To protect the sanctuary’s pachyderm residents, activists in the nation have volunteered to knit giant sweaters to keep the previously abused mammals warm and protected.
Local villagers were eager to collaborate and custom-knit large sweaters for the elephants and did so with a smile. Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder of Wildlife SOS, told The Dodo that it took about four weeks for them to complete one. However, that time frame didn’t stop them from quickly creating more.
Each elephant was rescued from a life of exploitation and abuse, so volunteers feel like knitting them sweaters is the least they can do. Said Satyanarayan in a press release:
“It is important to keep our elephants protected from the bitter cold during this extreme winter, as they are weak and vulnerable having suffered so much abuse making them susceptible to ailments such as pneumonia. The cold also aggravates their arthritis which is a common issue that our rescued elephants have to deal with.”
So far, three of the sanctuary’s 23 rescued elephants have been gifted sweaters (and are donning them proudly). Until the rest can be completed, the remaining pachyderms will wear less fashionable blankets to keep them warm.
Click here to buy a blanket for an elephant at Wildlife SOS, or follow this link to learn about other ways to help.
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