After a lifetime in captivity, 67-year-old elephant Phoolkali has finally found safety.
Now, she happily indulges in refreshing baths.
All wild animals deserve to live their lives in the wild, as nature intended.
But sadly, many animals still suffer due to human cruelty and neglect.
One such animal is Phoolkali, whose name means “flower bed”, according to Daily Mail .
Scars of horrific neglect
This 67-year-old elephant has spent her entire life in captivity. She was rescued back in 2012, when she was 55 years old.
As a result of mistreatment, she is blind in one eye and lacks proper strength in her worn-out legs.
”Blind in the right eye and weak in her legs, Phoolkali had no respite from her torturous routine of begging for alms, for the survival of her owner who never cared for her. Phoolkali was forced to navigate through narrow streets and littered roads at the thunderous shout of her owner or a stab of bull-hook to her forehead, leaving her physically and psychologically tortured and completely breaking her spirit as an elephant,” SOS Wildlife writes.
Fortunately, there are people working every day to help animals like Phoolkali, rescuing them from a life of hardship.
At the age of 67, she can finally live the life she deserves at an elephant sanctuary near the Taj Mahal in Agra.
There, they have a large pool where she enjoys bathing, relieving tension and allowing the animals to relax.
”Elephants love the pool so much. You can actually see tears of joy in their eyes after years of cruelty,” said Kartick Satyanarayan from the Wildlife SOS organization, speaking to Daily Mail.
In a video they shared, you can truly see how much she enjoys her bath.
Undoubtedly, this warms the hearts of all animal lovers.
A little bit of snacking and a little bit of splashing! Phoolkali, our resident elephant, makes sure to multitask when it comes to her relaxing. Her caregiver carefully feeds her channas (chickpeas) as she spends her time in the hydrotherapy pool.Posted by Wildlife SOS on Monday, December 4, 2023
So incredibly heartwarming! We hope you have many happy years and many enjoyable baths ahead!