Another day at the office. Another week of hard work. Another month. Another year. It all gets a little blurry after a while. Day in, day out. Clocking in, clocking out. Commuting to, commuting from. Work, whatever you do, however you do it, is a part of life. Usually, there is a work/life balance, right?
For some, sure. For others, certainly not. And when you’re an animal in a circus, you are always performing, always on show. As the saying goes, the show must go on, and it always does.
Elephant sisters Sita and Mia loyally showed up for work every day for 50 years – at the circus. They were held in captivity in Southern India, having lived their entire lives in chains at the command of their owners. Finally, after a lifetime of work, Wildlife SOS intervened to rescue these two gentle giants and give them the life they deserve – and the rest and care they need after being severely malnourished and mistreated. Both were found in poor shape, especially Sita who had a fracture in her front leg that hadn’t been set properly. The elephant was in so much pain and had such limited movement that she wasn’t able to lie down. Wildlife SOS wrote on Facebook saying, “We know it has been at least a year since she has laid down and slept.”
The two excited girls boarded the truck to be shipped 1,200 miles to the Elephant Conservation and Care Center in Mathura, where they will get to swim and take part in many other fun activities. In reference to Sita, “Although she is now over 50, we believe this was her first time ever getting to swim.” And Mia got to lay down for the first time in years. “This picture shows one of our happiest moments. Shortly after arriving at the rescue center, Mia lay down and went into a deep sleep,” Wildlife SOS writes.
Since their release and second chance at life, the two will be tended to by expert veterinarians and will get some much-needed therapy for their overall health – starting with their feet and working upwards. According to Wildlife SOS, this will include “…warm foot soaks, swimming, exercise on natural soft surfaces, medicine, a specialized diet and lots of rest.”
It seems like there are happier days ahead for the elephants. “Mia and Sita seem so much happier already,” Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder of Wildlife SOS, said in a press release. “It’s almost like they sense they are going to get a happier life where they will not be forced to perform in circuses anymore – a life where their aching and painful joints will get the rest and the care they deserve.”
Click below to watch these two deserving sisters enjoy life after the circus.
