Watch | Take a tour of the Wildlife SOS Elephant Hospital

Six years in, India’s first elephant hospital continues to give abused and exploited elephants a second chance at a freedom and safety

Much before the Ambanis launched Vantara elephant hospital in Jamnagar, Gujarat, earlier this year, roughly 1,200 km away in the obscure Garhi village in Churmura district, ECCC has been redefining the landscape of advanced medical care for pachyderms, sans brouhaha and media glare. Since 2010, the centre has rescued 60 elephants, treated 120 and attended to 200-plus on-site injuries. It achieved a milestone in 2018, setting up an exclusive elephant hospital by the river Yamuna.

“The aim is not to check any boxes, but to develop the ability to provide assistance to elephants in distress,” says Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder and CEO of Wildlife SOS. The 40 elephants under rehab care at ECCC have had gruesome pasts. When an elephant is injured, ill or traumatised, it is imperative to help it regain its confidence. “They are sensitive animals and heal with compassion; over a period of time, their behaviour changes,” says veterinary surgeon Ilayaraja Selvaraj, who has been with Wildlife SOS for two decades, and got into elephant care in the last five years. “[For instance] we prioritise stimulating their natural behaviour by encouraging them to walk on soft soil in a near-natural environment.”

While the majority of elephants rescued by the ECCC are from Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, the team has also carried out operations in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Kerala. On tip-offs from informants and trackers, Wildlife SOS collaborates with the police, forest and enforcement departments, and local communities to save elephants from illegal confinement. The rescue is prioritised based on the animal’s neglect, pain, exhaustion and starvation.

Read the full story: Tuskers in rehab | Wildlife SOS Elephant Hospital continues to step up