Tikiiri is 70 years old, malnourished and she has been held prisoner for probably as long as she can remember. And since an elephant never forgets, that's probably a very, very long time.
Tikiiri's plight went viral as pictures of her emaciated body were shared online earlier this summer by Save Elephant Foundation She, along with 59 other elephants, was forced to work during the Perahera Festival in Sri Lanka this year.
The festival, which lasts ten days every year, is a joyous occasion for its human celebrants, but for the 60 pachyderms, it's torture. Tikiiri has been sold from one owner to the next over the years, but for more than five decades she has been forced to work the festival. She has endured walking long distances from dawn till dusk, fireworks, bright lights and loud crowds every year for fifty years.
But it seems that her old body has had just about as much as it can take. Now, new pictures have hit the internet, one showing the female elephant collapsed on the ground seemingly in desperate agony.
Her owner says she is well taken care of, but the picture of Tikiiri lying on the ground, unable to move tells a different story.
If we don't act fast, Tikiiri will surely die. She will pass away in the hands of someone who doesn't care for her at all and then she will be tossed aside.
Please, we need your urgent help. Sign the petition and call on Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe to rescue Tikiiri now.Photo credit : Save Elephant Foundation Facebook 