Rescued Circus Elephant Is Finally Reunited With Her 'Family.'
For almost 53 years of her life, Rhea had known nothing but a life of exploitation. But now, thanks to her rescuers, her abusive past is behind her and she will live out her days in freedom with the only family she’s ever known.
According to Wildlife SOS, the organization responsible for securing her freedom, Rhea spent nearly her entire life as a circus elephant. She was likely taken from her family in the wild as a baby, before she was forced to endure a brutal training regime that would turn her into a performer. She would spend her life confined by ropes and heavy chains, and it would take a toll on her. The organization wrote in an update about her past:
Her time in the circus has left Rhea riddled with ailments. Her feet are in atrocious conditions, with deep painful cracks running through her swollen soles. Her nails are cracked and her cuticles overgrown, testament to the neglect she has been subjected to all these years. She walks awkwardly, with a slight limp, and we are suspicious of more serious wounds or problems that can only be diagnosed once she is in our care at the Elephant Conservation and Care Centre, Mathura.
Her rescuers hope she took comfort in the company of two other female elephants, Mia and Sita, who were the only family she had.
http://www.care2.com/causes/rescued-...er-family.html
*Geeez, I wish circuses would disappear 