When Mohan’s story first entered the public domain, his plight captivated hearts everywhere – and people around the world became invested in ending the suffering of this wonderful elephant. Unfortunately, Mohan’s rescue wasn’t that simple, and it took nearly two years of fighting before we were able to get him to the safety of the Elephant Conservation and Care Centre late last month. The wait was long, difficult and often disheartening, but we were determined to free Mohan, and the outpouring of love and support that we received during the journey from our wonderful supporters around the world made a huge difference and kept us motivated and positive through it all.
Unfortunately, the sensitive nature of Mohan’s case and his rescue, and the significant risks involved, made it nearly impossible for us to update our supporters regularly and in the detail we would have liked to – without potentially jeopardising his rescue.
So, when this tumultuous journey finally got its happy ending, we were eager to update all the amazing people who had stood by us and by Mohan so patiently through it all. To give our supporters a chance to relive the journey in vivid detail and to open up a forum where they could ask us all the questions they had been wanting to all this time, we decided to host a webinar on Mohan’s rescue and open registration to anyone interested in attending.
The webinar, titled ‘Saving the World’s Unluckiest Elephant,’ was hosted by Wildlife SOS co-founder Kartick Satyanarayan and our Elephant Campaign Manager Rhea Lopez. With more than 1, 500 attendees registered, this was our biggest webinar yet, a true testament to the sheer number of people whose lives Mohan had touched with his story of suffering.
Kartick kicked off the presentation with a quick introduction to Mohan and the background to his story, before moving on to the first attempt we had made to rescue Mohan in early 2015, which had ended in a dangerous confrontation with a volatile mob. After a brief description of the detrimental physical and mental condition that Mohan was left in due to his years of abuse and neglect, Kartick detailed the legal proceedings that had delayed Mohan’s rescue time and again, and which eventually helped us get him to safety – reliving every setback, loss, delay and eventual elation at the victory with the enthralled audience.
Following this, Rhea stepped in to describe the journey that followed Mohan’s rescue, taking the audience on the nearly 340 mile journey from the place the elephant was being held in Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh, to the safe haven at ECCC, Mathura. Accompanied by never seen before pictures of the journey and fascinating new details and stories straight from the field, the presentation allowed the attendees to be a part of the adventure of rescuing Mohan and to share in the excitement of the moment he finally stepped into his new home at ECCC.
The webinar ended on a high, with a description of Mohan’s new life at ECCC and the wonderful healing journey he now has to look forward to, and culminated in an interactive session with both speakers answering the queries that had cropped up in the audience during the talk.
If you missed the webinar, but would like to listen in on the first-hand experience of rescuing the world’s unluckiest elephant, you can view the recording at this link.
