As our many conservation initiatives continue to bloom, we’re thrilled with all of Wildlife SOS’s quiet (and not so quiet) successes of 2024. Some of these programmes don’t bring the TV crews running to scoop a story, but the steady, determined efforts of so many are making a lasting impact. From improvements in treatment and care of elephants, to research, anti-poaching and community engagement to build awareness, our experience, skill, and leadership as an organisation is a shining example of creativity, stubbornness and commitment to the animals we care for so deeply. What a great way to kick-off our 30th anniversary!
Photo above: Suryoday Singh Mann took this beautiful image of a sheep herder’s family in the Himalayan foothills of Jammu & Kashmir. The family lives among bears, leopards and other wildlife, but the area’s biggest challenge is a rapid rise in tourism.
#5 Expanding and Exploring Elephant Treatments – Wildlife SOS is one of the few organisations in the world that cares for so many injured, abused and chronically ill Asian elephants. From arthritis and fused joints that limit mobility, to a lifetime of malnutrition and associated health problems, we’re on the cutting edge of treatments for these massive animals that often require specialised tests, medical equipment and medicines.
In 2024, we started working with experts so as to blend new and old medical techniques. Acupuncture and electrical stimulation is used to treat musculoskeletal pain and movement issues. We’ve seen good results in restoring neurological function to Bani’s injured legs, and in 2025 we’re planning more clinics to help elderly elephants with chronic pain and acute gastrointestinal problems. Gastrointestinal issues like colic are serious and sometimes deadly forms of constipation and digestion troubles that affect elephants with limited mobility, like our arthritic seniors.
#4 Research and Conflict Management in Jammu & Kashmir – One of the most visually stunning areas in the world resting in the foothills of the majestic Himalayan mountains, Jammu & Kashmir has seen an unmanageable surge in tourism. Because of all the people in a traditionally rural area, our teams have been on the front lines of a dramatic rise in human-wildlife conflict. Research and community outreach have proven very effective, but we’re still in need of lasting, creative solutions for a severely over-stressed infrastructure.
Our own Education Officer and Programme Head Ms. Aaliya Mir is often first on the scene when a leopard has attacked a child walking to school, when a snake finds refuge in a business, or when a habituated brown bear strolls into town. As our research efforts expand to guide effective solutions, we will continue our day-to-day operations protecting wildlife and people.
#3 Anti-poaching and De-snaring – Karnataka is a bastion of wild sloth bear habitat. Gudekote and Daroji Bear Sanctuaries (national parks managed specifically to help endangered wild sloth bears thrive) are surrounded by rural farming communities. Where humans and wildlife share landscapes, conflicts often arise. In 2024, Wildlife SOS teamed up with the Karnataka Forest Department for a two-pronged approach to address a growing problem of snares and unintentional poaching.
Illegal snares are simple and inexpensive devices … they’re also indiscriminate killers. Often intended to catch rabbits or wild boar that eat farmer’s crops, they sometimes catch sloth bears, leopards, and even small elephants. Finding a large, angry and often severely injured animal in their snare, these trappers panic and leave the animals to suffer and die. It’s a tragic cycle that requires strong law enforcement, but also some compassion and understanding of the challenges faced by subsistence farmers.
Midnight sweeps for new snares in known wildlife corridors, combined with community education, have proven to be a successful mix. We’re tracking the impact of the ongoing programme, but so far we’ve seen a significant decrease in the number of injured large mammals.
#2 Medical Outreach Workshops – Fighting for weeks to unsuccessfully rescue elephant Moti shook us all to the core. The most tragic part for us was that his death was preventable, if we had only known about him sooner. Rather than standing on the sidelines, Wildlife SOS showed true leadership and pledged to go out into communities and help elephants in need. We make uneasy allies with some elephant owners, but our focus is to relieve suffering, prevent more tragedies like Moti, encourage better treatment of elephants … and possibly bring more elephants in need to our rescue centres.
We have recently completed months-long elephant medical and training workshops in Assam, in addition to our longstanding community education programmes tailored to conservation awareness and coexistence with wildlife. We learned long ago, while rescuing India’s ‘dancing’ bears, that lasting change to help wildlife only happens when communities are trained, educated and empowered. In 2024, we conducted countless workshops around India!
#1 Bani’s Rescue – Not exactly quiet news, but we couldn’t make a 2024 “top five” list without Bani! This precocious little elephant lost almost everything in the blink of an eye. With the blur of a speeding train, she lost her family, the use of her legs, and her life as a free elephant. Her outlook was grim, but we didn’t give up. Bani’s relentless drive to survive fueled our team’s tireless efforts to help her. There were dark days when all seemed hopeless, but boisterous Bani would make us laugh, cry, and pick ourselves up and keep trying. She’s a fighter!
This sweet little elephant will never know a wild life again, but she also won’t ever know the cruelties of phajaan (breaking her wild spirit). She will likely always have a limp, but she’ll be able to frolic and play in the company of friends at the Elephant Hospital Campus. Living among all the other rescued elephants at our facilities, little Bani has brought the spark of youth and the rambunctiousness of a wild elephant to our family, and we’re forever grateful we could help her. Her life isn’t what it should be, living in a remote forest with her mother and aunties, but with your support, we’ve given her the next best thing … health, safety, dignity and love. Thank you!
