An elderly, blind elephant will no longer be forced to beg for money on cracked feet in the streets of Mumbai, India.
The roughly 60-year-old animal, named Lakhi, has been rescued “from a hellish life of abuse,” Manoj Oswal, an animal activist with People for Animals, told The Times of India. She’s headed to an elephant sanctuary where she’ll live out the rest of her days in kinder company.
Wildlife SOS, an animal welfare organization involved with her rescue, recounts a sobering list of how she suffered: punctured feet, pointed chains around her ankles, dehydration and wounds from whipping. Head trauma, including bullhooks to her eyes, is likely the cause of her blindness, the group said, as well as age and poor nutrition.
“A pedicure for a beautiful girl no matter what size!” wrote RESQ Charitable Trust, the organization taking care of Lakhi until she can be moved to her new home.