Bollywood celebs lend support to blind elephant ‘Nina’

AGRA Several Bollywood celebrities have taken to social media to lend their support to ‘Nina’, a 60-year-old visually challenged elephant and create awareness on prevention of such animals suffering from abuse

AGRA Several Bollywood celebrities have taken to social media to lend their support to ‘Nina’, a 60-year-old visually challenged elephant and create awareness on prevention of such animals suffering from abuse. Over 60,000 signatures have been taken on an online petition on the issue, as a result of which ‘Nina’ has been taken to the Elephant Hospital in Mathura for treatment.

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“The elephant is blind in both eyes and suffers from severe arthritis, lameness, and degenerative joint disease. Her deteriorating health and critical medical condition means she needs urgent medical attention. Wildlife SOS and forest department rushed ‘Nina’ to the Elephant Hospital in Mathura for urgent treatment and care,” said Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder and CEO, Wildlife SOS.

Nina has been subjected to begging for alms and used for wedding processions all her life. Despite being blind, weak, elderly, severely malnourished, and suffering from arthritis and fused joints, she continued to be exploited for commercial use, alleged Kartick.

“The sharp jab of the bull hook by her owner/mahout forced the blind elephant to walk through busy traffic, towns from wedding to wedding where the startling loud noises and crowds of people kept her confused and scared. When Nina was not at work, she was tightly shackled by a spiked chain which prevented her from lying down and resting. Even during the pandemic, when there was a ban on crowds at weddings, this elephant was used for wedding processions and forced to beg for alms on the streets. Nina never received proper medical treatment,” said Dr Ilayaraja, deputy director of Veterinary Services at Wildlife SOS.

“Bollywood celebrities such as Athiya Shetty, Shruti Haasan, Randeep Hooda, Vivek Oberoi, Adil Hussain, Ramona Arena, Pia Trivedi, Bani J, Pooja Batra and Suchitra Pillai, and even popular US TV series—“Modern Family” star Nolan Gould joined in to show their support by signing the petition to help Nina and sharing the same on their respective social media accounts,” he said.

At the Wildlife SOS Elephant Hospital in Mathura, Nina now has the comfort of a dedicated team of experienced elephant veterinarians and care staff who are carrying out ultrasound of her damaged eyes to explore possibilities of reducing her discomfort, X-rays of her fragile bones, blood tests and other tests to assess her health status. The Wildlife SOS veterinary team has also developed an intensive treatment plan for her that involves hydrotherapy, laser therapy and healthy nutrition to help reduce her pain, stated Dr Ilayaraja.

Baiju Raj M.V, director - Conservation Projects, WSOS, said: “We are very happy and grateful to the Uttar Pradesh forest department for their trust in us to help handicapped elephants like Nina.”

Rajnikant Mittal, divisional forest officer, Mathura, said: “The UP forest department is happy to provide medical treatment for suffering elephants at the Elephant Hospital in collaboration with Wildlife SOS.”