Walnut
Year of arrival: 2015
Age at the time of arrival: 18 years old
Sex: Male
Personality traits: Playful and energetic
Health condition when rescued: Aggressive stereotypy like head-bobbing and pacing
Facility: Elephant Conservation and Care Centre (ECCC)
Favourite food: Green fodder and peanut
Favourite activities: Running around his enclosure and giving himself a dust bath
Background: Walnut was one among four elephants who was rescued from a circus in Maharashtra. He was subjected to a lifetime of abuse and torture where he had to perform unnatural tricks to entertain large audiences. This caused trauma to Walnut, which in turn led to stereotypy. | READ MORE ABOUT WALLY
walnut’S STORY
Walnut was rescued with Coconut, Peanut and Macadamia from a circus in Maharashtra back in 2015. They were lovingly named as the ‘Nut Herd’ when they arrived at Wildlife SOS’s facility. The four elephants were not just the largest group we’d ever taken in at once, but also the youngest elephants we had rescued till date, with Peanut being only six years old then.
Young elephants are always boisterous and enjoy being destructive, but Walnut seemed subdued and scared, having spent the entirety of his life in a circus. As a performing animal, he suffered unimaginable cruelty and abuse as part of his training process, and the resulting stereotypy and mental distress were evident. Initially cautious of his new surroundings, Walnut grew comfortable over time. We saw his playful side unleash when he took his first dip in the pool, as though he had never known that he could take uninterrupted baths. He would spray water all around him and play around with the tyre enrichment to his heart’s content! A hanging haynet enrichment was designed and filled with green fodder and jaggery for Walnut, and he stumped his caregivers by strategically dismantling it. It didn’t take long for him to realise that he was in a safe place, which led him to gradually shed the trauma he faced in his past.