At Dr.Tusk, we recognize that elephants are the most intelligent of the many species with whom we share the planet.
They are capable of empathy and have a complex consciousness. Unfortunately, their population has been at risk for decades.
Protecting elephants is an enormous task and we are doing our part by raising awareness and donating 5% of profits to our charitable partners in the field. Wildlife SOS and the Elephant Sanctuary of Tennessee have provided much needed support to rescued elephants both here in the United States and in India.
TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND REVERSE THE TREND!
We started working with Wildlife SOS in 2021 to bring much needed attention to the plight of Indian elephants.
In 2010, Wildlife SOS created the ElephantConservation and Care Center (ECCC) to rehabilitate severely abused and exploited captive elephants. All elephants were rescued from extreme distress, while some were privately owned and had the cruel history of being used for begging, others spent a lifetime in captivity and confinement as temple elephants or were being forced to perform in circuses.
No longer forced to bear heavy loads, or walk on hot pavement, these majestic creatures are finally able to spend their days happily, with long and relaxing baths, nutritious diet and regular veterinary care. The center is full of natural vegetation with enough open fields around for their daily walks and several trees available, thus making it closest to the natural habitat of the elephants.
Suraj was living a life of abuse and neglect in a temple in Maharashtra when Wildlife SOS rescued him in December 2015. Ironically, Suraj, whose name means ‘sun’ in Hindi, spent nearly all his time restrained by spiked chains in a dark, dank room with little food and water. Years of neglect led to severely deteriorated health including multiple bull-hook wounds, foot rot and a terribly malnourished frame. This magnificent tusker had even lost his entire left ear (believed to have been torn off when he was poached from the wild as a calf). Safely residing at theElephant Conservation and Care Centre, Suraj is getting all the pampering he so deserves today!
For 50 years, Jai languished on the unforgiving streets of crowded cities and was abused as a begging elephant. Being a robust bull elephant, his owners thought the best way to control him was to tightly restrain him with illegal spiked chains that dug through his flesh causing suppurating wounds. In 2020, the timely intervention of the Rajasthan Forest Department and Wildlife SOS rescued him from a lifetime of misery and Jai was successfully rehabilitated to the Wildlife SOS Elephant Hospital for intensive care.
Holly was rescued in 2018, as a begging elephant whose body hosted scars of a brutal and abusive past. Holly is now 60 and is completely blind in both her eyes. She lived her life in isolation, walking endlessly on hot, tarred roads. Holly became the first patient of the Wildlife SOS Elephant Hospital, and urgent medical attention was rendered to her by our team of veterinarians. Holly now loves spending time in the hydrotherapy pool and enjoys taking naps there! The buoyancy of the water helps taking the weight off her exhausted, arthritic limbs and helps the relief run through Holly’s legs.
Since 1995, The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee has provided elephants retired from performance and exhibition with a safe refuge and the companionship of other elephants. The facility has grown from 110 acres to 2,700 acres and has provided sanctuary to 27 elephants, making it North America's largest natural habitat refuge for captive elephants.
Through Airstream’s Caravan to Carbon Neutral and the National Forest Foundation, DR.TUSK is planting 1,000 trees in 2021, eliminating an estimated 500 tons of carbon sequestered over the course of the trees’ lifetimes – the equivalent of about 1,240,000 passenger vehicle miles.
