Building a Future for India’s Elephants

We are running out of space to care for new elephant rescues

With the grand opening of India’s only dedicated elephant hospital in 2018, Wildlife SOS has become a beacon of hope for India’s elephants. As the number of pachyderm patients continues to grow at the Elephant Hospital, Wildlife SOS is planning for a future providing research and training for the benefit of India’s 2,700 captive Asian elephants, as well as long term care for as many as we can. We’ve had great success, but we’re running out of room.

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Why do we need to expand the Elephant Hospital?

• With 26 elephants at the Elephant Hospital, we are rapidly outgrowing our current facilities. Space limitations will soon impact our ability to rescue new elephants who desperately need us, as more emergencies arise that require us to act quickly.
• These captive elephants used for tourism and entertainment can never be released back into the wild, so Wildlife SOS plays a critical role in providing long term care and compassion to many sick, injured, debilitated and elderly elephants.

Why expand at this location now?

• A hub for education – The Elephant Hospital, the nearby Elephant Conservation and Care Centre and our Agra Bear Rescue Facility are ideally situated to maximise education, public awareness, volunteerism, and veterinary and caregiver training programs. 
• A foundation for success – Existing facilities, communications and fresh water infrastructure, and access to open forest lands and the Yamuna River, make the site ideal for elephant conservation. The center is accessible by a major highway, and employees can find housing closeby.
• Natural – Environment and migratory bird habitat in the Central Asian-Indian Flyway corridor helps enrich the lives of elephants with a natural, wild environment.
• Preservation – Adjacent forest land that will remain green and never be developed, fostering more natural surroundings.
• Emergency center – The Elephant Hospital and ambulance are in a central location, within 1000 miles of the most critical areas for elephant rescue, care and conservation. 
• Train the next generations – The Elephant Hospital is near the veterinary college in Mathura and universities in Agra and Delhi, allowing Wildlife SOS to grow as a centre of elephant care research and training.
• Sustainability – Grow our own fodder, organic crops and make us less dependent on market prices and scarcity.
• Timely – The Agra District is rapidly growing to become home to 4.5 million people. As real estate becomes scarce and prices increase, Wildlife SOS must act now to ensure a future for elephants.

What do we want to build?

• When all phases are complete, we will more than quadruple the current size of the existing Elephant Hospital. The new north section will include habitats and treatment areas for 60-70 elephants, with continuous access to the Elephant Hospital, the Yamuna River, forest land, and open space that allows our elephant residents to thrive.
• An education and training centre to increase public awareness and action to help the plight of endangered Asian elephants.
• Veterinary training and research programs.
• Sustainability to run on solar power, water and sewage recycling, organic food for both staff and elephants.
• Dedicated super-strong areas for bull elephants in musth.

For more information or to discuss a major gift, please contact:

How much of the expansion is complete?

We’ve already completed Phase 1 of our long-term plan with the opening of the Elephant Hospital and South section along the Yamuna River. There is no more land available for purchase surrounding the Hospital, so we plan to expand across the river where property is available and less costly. This will allow us to save more elephants.

We are in Phase 2, which includes the purchase of an additional 110 acres on the north side of the Yamuna river, across from the Elephant Hospital. We have already purchased 36 acres of this property, and are now fundraising to purchase the additional 74 acres to give us continuous property on both sides of the river.

Once we have purchased the 110 acres on the north side of the river, Phase 3 will begin building facilities for 60-70 more elephants. This will join the existing Elephant Hospital to the additional 110 acres of facilities with access to forest land and the Yamuna river where elephants can experience natural habitats.