When winter arrives and temperatures drop, humans aren’t the only ones that need to dress accordingly to keep warm. Endangered Asian elephants at a Wildlife SOS conservation center in northern India have been known to wear beautiful, handmade “sweaters” during wintry weather.
The 20 elephants the organization hosts are afflicted by blindness, lameness, or recovering from other maladies. They were rescued from abusive situations like trafficking, circuses, street begging, and other illegal activities. As a result, they are more fragile and susceptible to diseases like pneumonia and arthritis flare-ups.
During a particularly cold winter in late 2016, early 2017, when temperatures in the region got close to freezing, local women volunteered to knit massive blankets to keep the elephants warm. The initiative began as an idea to knit blankets for elephants; however, the organization’s co-founders, Kartick Satyanarayan and Geeta Sheshamani, felt it would be better if each elephant got a fitted sweater.
Caring for elephants is a big job…literally. Everything they need requires more resources, more time, and more energy. As a result, it took volunteers four weeks to finish just one of the sweaters. It may look like crochet, but the volunteers were actually using knitting needles to complete the sweaters. This meant that it took longer to create, but they ultimately saved on materials, the results were softer, and they draped better.
In addition to the success of the sweaters, the elephants also got custom-fitted “jumbo jackets” to protect them from harsh weather and windchill. The elephants now continue living their best lives under the care of experienced rescuers.
Endangered Asian elephants at a conservation center in India are kept warm with giant “sweaters.”
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During a particularly harsh winter, local women volunteered to knit the sweaters for the rescued elephants.
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It took about 4 weeks to complete just one of the sweaters, but it was well worth it to protect the elephants.
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These gentle giants have also been given “jumbo jackets” to brave the cold.
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Source: Knitting jumbo jumpers
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