At the start of 2025, Wildlife SOS launched an ambitious campaign to put an end to India’s ‘begging’ elephant crisis.
Since we first launched our elephant rescue program 15 years ago, over 90% of the elephants we’ve brought to our hospital campus have been privately owned street elephants, also known as ‘begging elephants’. In addition to those we’ve been able to rescue, we’ve faced countless heartbreaking situations where our efforts to save a collapsed elephant fell short. Sadly, many of these tragic outcomes involved begging elephants.
While every rescue has been a cause for celebration, our ultimate vision is an India where there are no begging elephants in need of saving. In this vision, elephants won’t be forced to walk on hot tarmac roads, chained and prodded by bullhooks. Blind elephants won’t have to navigate urban streets, dodging noisy, polluting traffic. Elephants won’t bear the weight of heavy loads on their fragile spines.
Our research shows that at the end of 2024, there were 280 begging elephants still on the streets, and we estimate that it will take about 5 years to end this crisis. To achieve this, we will need three core strategies in place: a rescue operation to remove elephants from the streets and bring them to proper sanctuaries, an anti-trafficking team to prevent new elephants from entering the system, and an advocacy team to provide on-the-ground medical care and raise awareness. Equally important is our ongoing effort to track and monitor these elephants to ensure we’re making measurable progress toward our goal.
Six months into the campaign—roughly 10% of the campaign’s planned duration, we’re seeing promising results. Our data indicates that 23 fewer begging elephants are on the streets since the campaign launched. Many of these elephants have been rescued, though sadly, some have passed away. We are also seeing a positive trend: No new begging elephants have replaced the ones we’ve rescued or lost.
Though we’re still in the early stages of this ambitious effort, we are optimistic the goal to bring all begging elephants to sanctuary is within reach. However, achieving it will require continued resources to run our programs at full capacity and complete the expansion of our elephant facility. Every individual who supports this campaign makes it stronger, bringing us closer to a future where people will no longer see begging elephants on the streets of India.
A typical example of a ‘begging’ elephant, watch Pari’s first steps of freedom, and a recent video showing her remarkable recovery.
