After enduring five decades of severe mistreatment, Raju the elephant finally gained freedom.

For nearly his entire life, Raju was confined by painful chains, trudging along the dusty roads of India, forced to interact with tourists for small amounts of money and scraps of food. His body shows the signs of malnutrition and relentless abuse, but his emotional scars run even more profound.

Last week, a dedicated team from the UK-based animal charity Wildlife SOS rescued Raju from his cruel captor. Tears streamed down his face as the elephant realized he was being saved.

“Raju was kept in chains around the clock, a heartbreaking display of cruelty. The team was deeply moved to see tears streaming down his face during the rescue,” Pooja Binepal of Wildlife SOS told the Mirror.

“It was incredibly emotional. We knew in our hearts he understood he was being freed. Elephants are majestic and brilliant animals. We can only imagine the torture he endured over the past fifty years.”

The rescue operation, coordinated with local authorities, was initiated a year after Raju’s desperate situation was first reported.

This led to a legal battle to confiscate him from his mahout. The team worked tirelessly through the night, removing the sharp shackles that had bound him for most of his life.

Raju is believed to have been taken from his mother in the wild as a calf around five decades ago, suffering abuse at the hands of various owners since then.

After the rescue, Raju was gently loaded onto a truck and transported 350 miles to Wildlife SOS’s Elephant Conservation and Care Centre, where veterinarians oversaw his care.

There, he began the long process of healing from both his physical injuries and the psychological trauma of his prolonged captivity.

Raju will now live in a natural habitat, accompanied by other rescued elephants.

“Before we stepped in, he had never experienced life without chains,” says Binepal. “But now, he knows the meaning of freedom and will come to understand the warmth of kindness.”