In the festive season of Christmas, our Wildlife SOS centres transform into a magical wonderland every winter. Gold, red, and green adorn the centres and their trees, and our staff members don red hats to bring in happiness and joy for the merriest time of the year!
With hearts full of love and bags filled with presents, caregivers are ensuring to celebrate the festive fervour with our resident animals. While our own staff Santas spread warmth and cheer, a Secret Santa soon joined in, adding a “starry” spirit to Christmas 2024!
Merry shades of happiness greeted our furry friends at the bear centres after our Santa teams brought in their presents! The boxes, neatly wrapped in apt colours, were filled with their favourite treats.
Caregivers of our sloth bears at the Agra Bear Rescue Facility (ABRF) are well aware that the route to their heart and happiness is through their tummy, and so, these gifts consisted of jaggery, dates, popcorn, fresh fruits and of course– honey! The bubbly bears were quick to gobble down their share of yummy treats.
Adding to the Christmas cheer were juicy, fruity snacks that were hung all around their enclosures and had each ursine munch on them with absolute delight!
While sloth bears explored their edible Christmas decor, the leopards at Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre (MLRC) were in for a surprise with their very own gift boxes!
The curious big cats geared up to decode what the mysterious boxes placed in their field contained. A good round of sniffing them was followed by an enthusiastic one of tossing the boxes around, and the leopards joyfully relished the hidden nutritious treats that they successfully found!
The inquisitive felines were also astonished to find new inclusions hanging in their fields, and were quick to mount their wooden platforms to explore them. These were eco-friendly Christmas decorations especially crafted out of bamboo by our creative caregivers!
Everyone loves presents! Our photography team captured Simba, one of the playful residents of MLRC, as he tried to sneak away with his tempting gift!
Christmas sprinkles of joy at MLRC and ABRF were matched by the festivities at our Elephant Care and Conservation Centre (ECCC) and Elephant Hospital Campus (EHC). The majestic giants under our care expressed thrill with their trumpets when they came across big boxes containing tasty treats!
The delicious combination of fresh dates, watermelons, bananas, jaggery and popcorn had our adorable trio of Emma, Maya, Phoolkali feast on them with glee! We also spotted them mischievously lifting tempting treats with their trunks from each other’s share. However naughty this deed was, they’re definitely on Santa’s ‘nice’ list! After all, sharing is caring among friends, right?
All things bright and beautiful met little Bani as she celebrated her 1st Christmas season with us. Her caregivers made sure that she had a gala time with treats she is most fond of: nuts, jaggery and fresh fruits including her favorite bananas!
Yummy gifts, delightful decor and watching her sporting caregivers transform into bearded humans in red are sure to remain in Bani’s share of joyful memories with us. There’s no Christmas without Santa, and our hardworking caregivers and veterinary teams across our elephant centres made sure we had more than just one!
They were also accompanied by Santa’s tireless helpers to prepare marvelous decor and numerous gifts…
… And a special guest was soon to arrive and join them!
Indian actor Ashmit Patel came in as our Secret Santa, whose entry further lifted our Christmas spirit!
Ashmit Patel is an ardent wildlife enthusiast, and after learning about the atrocities faced by our rescued animals, was deeply moved. Calling the strength of the gentle giants an inspiration for him, he came forward to play the role of Santa for the pachyderms.
The actor volunteered to prepare a fruit feast for the elephants and made sure that every box prepared was filled to the top for them. His eager involvement and enthusiasm bought a smile on everyone’s faces as he warmly participated in the jubilations.
Christmas carnivals held for animals at our centres are jolly ways for us to celebrate their freedom and resilience along with them! Their cheerful response to special Christmas gifts inspires us to continue showering them with our love and care. On this happy note, we wish our beloved readers, sponsors and donors season’s greetings and happy holidays!
