Temperatures in some parts of India can drop to freezing in the winter. And women living near a wildlife rescue centre have come up with an incredible way to keep animals warm.
If you’re struggling to keep warm in the cold weather, spare a thought for one of the most iconic animals on Earthleft to roam around in near-freezing temperatures without so much as a scarf. While many might think of India as a generally warm part of the worldsome areas in the north of the country can see temperatures drop below freezing in the winter, and colder still in some mountainous areas.
This poses problems for elephants living at a conservation centre in the northern city of Mathura. Thankfully women living in a nearby village came up with an ingenious, and eye-catching solution. Pictures posted to Reddit show the elephants with huge, colourful woolly garments covering their bodies and legs.
The pictures were posted with the title: “Huge jumpers and legwear are specially knitted by villagers to keep elephants warm at an Indian sanctuary.”
According to a report by the Times of Indiathe animals are being looked after by the Wildlife SOS Elephant Conservation and Care Center and have been rescued from illegal captivity, trafficking and other exploitation.
Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder and CEO of Wildlife SOS, told the Times of India in 2017: “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 arthritiswhich is a common issue that our rescued elephants have to deal with.”
Geeta Seshamani, secretary and co-founder Wildlife SOS said: “The rescued elephants under rehabilitation at Wildlife SOS have been rescued from shocking circumstances. We aim to provide them with a safe habitat where they can live like elephants.”
Reddit users were enchanted by the pictures. One said: “Elephant jammies may be my new favourite thing.”
Another wrote: “It took me three weeks to knit a shirt. How long did those giant-a** elephant blankets take?!?”
Replying, someone else said: “These people are basically on grandmaster level of knitting. They’ve been doing this their whole life. I’ve come across some of these people and it’s absolutely unreal to watch them doing it with the precision and speed like they’re robots.”
A different user asked: “Serious question, do they need to be kept warm? Always thought they just self-insulated with their massive skin layers.”
Another replied: “While elephants have skin that can be up to 2.5-3cm thick, this layer is designed to dissipate heat rather than retain it. In the wild, healthy elephants manage cold through constant movement and storing solar heat in their core.
“But these are rescued elephants. They have compromised health (are underweight, reduced immunity), have chronic conditions like arthritis and old injuries, and some of them are too old to move, which makes them vulnerable when temperatures reach sub-zero, like it normally does in this region on average.
“For these vulnerable animals at the Wildlife SOS Elephant Conservation and Care Centre, the hand-knitted sweaters are not for decoration, they are essential medical care that provides insulation their bodies can no longer provide.”
Someone else wrote: “I don’t know who looks happier, the elephants or the humans.”
