Raju the crying elephant is welcomed into an elephant family

[Liberal_in_LA]

After 50 brutal years of being used as a "beggar's prop," Raju finally has a family of his own.

The tortured elephant who made headlines in July for crying upon his release from captivity has joined five striking female pachyderms at his new home in India.

Tear-jerking video shows the gentle giant being welcomed to the Wildlife SOS’s Elephant Conservation and Care Center refuge in Mathura by his new companions.

Raju — believed to have been snatched from his mom as a young calf and to have been traded among 27 owners over the course of five grueling decades — joined new pals Laxmi, Chanchal, Sai Geeta, Phoolkali and Maya the sanctuary.

The female pachyderms flapped their ears, trumpeted greetings and touched Raju with their trunks — all signs of joy.

His new family members, collectively dubbed the "Herd of Hope," were all rescued by the Wildlife SOS charity, which also saved Raju from a life of "hell" during a nighttime raid early July.http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/raju-crying-elephant-new-home-article-1.1893552

[brer cat]

1. To see him playing in the water

is to know this story really had a happy ending. I am so thankful for his rescue...he deserves some years of peace and joy.

K&R

[Liberal_in_LA]

5. more pictures

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2715857/No-wonder-looks-happier-Raju-elephant-moved-world-tears-pictures-crying-swept-internet-smiles-introduced-five-females.html

All five elephants were rescued from abuse








A female strokes his trunk. He was initially wary of affection.

[shenmue]

10. On the first date?

[awoke_in_2003]

12. It's the 21st century

[Mnemosyne]

2. The photo of him in a huge pool with mangoes is wonderful. Live long, happy and peaceful, Raju. nt

[RKP5637]

3. K&R! n/t

[daschess1987]

4. K&R

<3

[MoonRiver]

6. Wondrous that he survived such torture and now has a second chance!

All the evil in this world can be summed up in one word: HUMAN.

[navarth]

33. "All the evil in this world can be summed up in one word: HUMAN"

Sad, sad, sad but true.

[Worried senior]

35. You are so right

humans at times can be the worst species in the world.

I hate it when people describe evil people as being worse than animals because animals do what they were meant to do, humans not so much.

[navarth]

39. I was quoting the previous poster....but I am very sad to be right in this.

Certain news stories fill me with loathing for my own species. I've said many times that the greatest evil is that we humans will take down all of the innocent species with us. This disgusts me.

[broadcaster75201]

42. Bingo. We do not deserve to survive and will not be missed when gone. n/t

nt

[cantbeserious]

7. Thank You For Sharing

eom

[byronius]

8. Excellent post.

[Texasgal]

9. This just makes my heart smile!

Thank you for sharing.

[sheshe2]

11. Oh! a good read, thank you so much!

[hifiguy]

13. Best and most heartwarming thing

I have seen in a while. The people who rescued this poor fella are examples of the best in humanity.

[awoke_in_2003]

14. k&r. nt

[Brigid]

15. I was just thinking of Raju!

He looks so happy, and it looks like he's putting on weight too!

[riderinthestorm]

16. I'm no elephant conformation expert but he's still so thin in comparison to the others

I'm just thrilled he's finally in a good place. I bet in a year or so he's just going to look magnificent!

[Brigid]

41. Don't worry . . .

Raju is already looking much better. It will take time to get his weight up to where it should be.

[riderinthestorm]

44. Oh agreed! The other females with him look WONDERFUL! Won't be long now that he's a good weight nt

[mimi85]

17. So refreshing to see a bit

of good news with all the bs going on in the world. I hope he lives out his remaining years in peace. Five females, wow!

[myrna minx]

18. .

[Curmudgeoness]

19. Happy tears.

My heart just breaks for the suffering that he endured. And I am so happy to see him free and happy.

[Phlem]

21. .

[Submariner]

20. A female strokes his trunk. He was initially wary of affection.

Raju is a player. That wary of affection thing is just Raju playing hard to get.

Next year there will probably be a DU post of Raju's 5 babies after he seduces his harem.

[Lars39]

22. You mean 2 years from now....

Elephant gestation is almost 2 years.

[jeff47]

23. Not quite....elephant gestation is 2 years. (nt)

[Brigid]

26. Make that two years.

Elephant gestation is about 640 days.

[NCarolinawoman]

24. I needed to see a positive, inspiring post tonight.....

and I FOUND it. Thank you!

[TDale313]

25. I'm so happy for him.

What he went through was so horrible. What a beautiful thing to see him enjoying a happy, comfortable life with other rescued elephants.

[Sheepshank]

27. *smile*

[DeSwiss]

28. !

[mopinko]

29. beggar's prop.

when i was in india, plenty of people competed for tips. as cute as the kids dancing in front of the restaurant door were, dancing in their traditional garb, i knew what the rest of their life was really like. should i tip, so he doesnt get beaten? yes. i did.

but i often tell the story of being held up for a tip by an elephant. in a shady deal with our driver, we saw an elephant by the side of the "big highway" to agra, and the driver asked us if we wanted to stop to take pics.
when we were done, back in the car, the elephant stepped out and blocked our way. we had to tip the guy to move.

yeah, beggars? more like extortionists.

glad this boy made it to retirement. brutal world out there.

[Triana]

30. SO happy this big baby is finally getting the comfort, peace and love he deserves! n/t

[rhett o rick]

31. k&r thanks for posting. nm

[Arugula Latte]

32. I'm crying.

There is something about elephants that just gets to me.

[Happyhippychick]

36. Me too. They are so gentle and loving.

They touch my heart.

[joeybee12]

34. I swear, in some photos he looks as if he's actually smiling!

[LeftishBrit]

37. Lovely end to a sad story; thanks for posting.

[Enthusiast]

38. K&R! I love elephants. Not the Republican kind.

[McCamy Taylor]

40. Elephants, gorillas, chimps, whales, dolphins---none of them should be treated like "animals."

[samsingh]

43. this is wonderful