To say that life in captivity was hard on Kalpana is an understatement. Day after day Kalpana suffered immensely as she was forced to navigate a world that she did not understand. As she walked on concrete roads going places to beg for alms, with her master sitting atop her, the soles of her delicate feet were wearing off, making each step harder for her. Yet she continued because her master would hit her with an axe or bull-hook if she did not comply with his commands. In his eyes, she was merely a means of making money, her well-being never mattered. Kalpana’s dietary and water requirements were neglected, and it is, thus, not surprising to see her sad bony frame. Life was just a long tragedy for her, which was further aggravated by a mishap that led to the fusing of her right front leg joint. But in her seemingly dark world, there was light at the end of the tunnel…
After spending nearly four decades of her life serving a greedy master, Kalpana got another chance at life when she arrived at the Wildlife SOS Elephant Hospital for treatment on the 1st of April, 2019. Within the first week of her arrival, Kalpana let us see the glimpses of her playful personality. When she was out in the open field, despite being unsure at first, she quickly discovered the joy of uprooting grasses and playing with dust. In fact, she found that the polls in her enclosure can double as scratching posts and she can be seen cathartically scratching herself.
In order to honour, this beautiful pachyderm’s readiness to embrace this new beginning in her life, Kalpana’s bell was removed by our co-founder Kartick Satyanarayan, who welcomed her in-person to the WSOS Elephant Hospital. Removal of Kalpana’s bell marks the beginning of her kinder future in the care of Wildlife SOS, where her wounds would be attended to and where she can finally be an elephant again. We are happy to share this profound moment with you…
