Blind elephant Nina's plight move celebrities

Several Bollywood celebrities took to social media to lend their voice and support to Nina, a 60-year-old geriatric and blind elephant. Over 60,000 signatures have been so far collected on the petition to prevent blind elephants from suffering abuse.

Nina is blind in both eyes and suffers from severe arthritis, lameness, and degenerative joint disease. Her deteriorating health and critical medical condition meant she needed urgent medical attention. Wildlife SOS and Forest department has rushed Nina to the Elephant Hospital in Mathura for urgent treatment and care.

Nina was forced into begging on the streets all her life as well as for wedding processions. Despite being blind, weak, elderly, severely malnourished, and suffering from arthritis and fused joints in her legs, she continued to be exploited for commercial use.

The sharp jab of the "ankush" or bull hook by her owner or mahout forced the blind elephant to walk through busy traffic, towns from wedding to wedding where the startling loud noises and crowds of people kept her confused and scared.

When Nina was not being worked, she was tightly shackled by a spiked chain which prevented her from lying down and resting. Even during the pandemic, when there was a ban on crowds at weddings, this blind elephant was forced to beg for alms on the streets. Nina never received proper medical treatment all her life.

Several Bollywood celebrities — Athiya Shetty, Shruti Haasan, Randeep Hooda, Vivek Oberoi, Adil Hussain, Ramona Arena, Pia Trivedi, Bani J, Pooja Batra and Suchitra Pillai, and even popular US TV series "Modern Family" star Nolan Gould pitched in signing the petition.

At the Wildlife SOS Elephant Hospital in Mathura, Nina now has the comfort of a dedicated team of experienced elephant veterinarians and care staff who are carrying out ultrasound of her damaged eyes to explore possibilities of reducing her discomfort, X rays of her fragile bones, blood tests and other tests to assess her health status.

The Wildlife SOS veterinary team has also developed an intensive treatment plan for her that involves hydrotherapy, laser therapy and healthy nutrition to help reduce her pain and suffering while addressing her health.

Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder & CEO Wildlife SOS said, "Wildlife SOS is grateful to all the celebrities who expressed their support to Nina elephant's plight. The Elephant Hospital was established in collaboration with the Forest Department to help elephants in distress. It's heartwarming to see celebrities use social media to change attitudes to bring about public education and awareness."

Geeta Seshamani, Secretary of Wildlife SOS said, "Years of neglect and abuse have taken a toll on Nina's health and we acted quickly to get her the medical care she desperately needs."

Baiju Raj M.V, Director - Conservation Projects, WSOS said, "We are very happy and grateful to the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department for their trust in us to help blind & handicapped elephants like Nina."

Rajnikant Mittal, IFS - Divisional Forest Officer, Mathura said, "The Uttar Pradesh Forest Department is happy to provide medical treatment for suffering elephants in collaboration with Wildlife SOS at the Elephant Hospital." (IANS)

Also Read: Herd of elephants moves to Bangladesh from Patharia Hills

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