In a first, the country got its very own specialised hospital for elephants in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. Located close to Wildlife SOS’s elephant conservation and care centre, the whopping 12,000 square feet space comes armed with great facilities and resources such as wireless digital x-ray, thermal imaging, tranquillisation devices, thermal imaging and quarantine facilities. They also host special sections for the long-time housing of geriatric elephants or those that need special attention and medical care.

The hospital also consists of a special observation deck where veterinary students and interns would get a chance to observe and learn about the animal – in this case, elephant care, behaviour and appropriate treatment from a close yet safe distance. As per reports, training courses will also be organised by Wildlife SOS that will help spread knowledge when it comes to the medical care of elephants, proper management and veterinary procedures to enable an emphatic view of the animals.

“The Wildlife SOS Elephant Hospital is designed to treat injured, sick or geriatric elephants and is equipped with a medical hoist for lifting elephants requiring critical care, a pathology laboratory, digital weighing scale, Elephant Restraining Device (ERD) with a dedicated indoor treatment enclosure for longer medical procedures,” said Wildlife SOS founder Kartick Satyanarayan in a report by The Hindu.

In an age where animal brutality and abuse is on the rise, such a facility provides a safe space as well as serves as a medium for information dissemination regarding animal welfare, human-animal conflict and compassion – something that is very much needed in India.

You can read more about and view images in this report by Reuters.

Feature image courtesy of Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters.