Heartbreaking photos of Tikiira, an emaciated 70-year-old female elephant forced to participate in a grueling 10 day festival in Sri Lanka, have been shared around the world by Save The Elephant.
In the most recent image posted this morning on Save The Elephant’s Facebook page, poor fragile Tikiira collapsed; most-likely due to exhaustion, malnutrition, and a tragic lifetime of unfathomable abuse.
“Tikiiri is one of the 60 elephants who must work in the service of the Perahera Festival in Sri Lanka this year,” the organization explained in its post. “Tikiiri joins in the parade early every evening until late at night every night for ten consecutive days. Amidst the noise, fireworks and smoke, she walks many kilometers every night so that people will feel blessed during the ceremony.” But meanwhile she is the one who is suffering.
“No one can distinguish her bony body or her weakened condition because of her costume,” Save The Elephant continued in the gut-wrenching post. “No one notices the tears in her eyes, injured by the bright lights that decorate her mask. No one recognizes her difficulty to step as her legs are shackled while she walks.”
