Elephants knitted giant woolly jumpers to protect them from the cold!

We’re all feeling the cold a little at the moment. Unless you’re sweating in the sweltering heat of an Australian summer on the other side of the world, you’ll be turning up the heating, adding an extra blanket to your bed and layering up to go outside in freezing winter temperatures.

While it’s easy enough for us to pull on another jumper if we’re cold, when you weigh in at 2.7kg on average, it’s not so straight forward.

Cue the Wildlife SOS Elephant Conservation and Care Centre in Mathura, India, who have been appealing to local villagers for help as temperatures dropped towards sub-zero at night in the northern city.

The conservation centre looks after rescued elephants who have been victims of chronic neglect and beatings from their previous owners and handlers.

Following the centres warning, women from the local village have begun knitting giant jumpers to protect the elephants against the cold. The colourful woolly garments cover the elephant’s legs, neck, and back to guard against the near freezing temperatures.

Kartick Satyanarayan, founder of the centre, explained why the eye-catching garments are vital for the elephants.

“It is important to keep our elephants protected from the bitter cold during this extreme winter,” she told the Times of India. “They are weak and vulnerable having suffered so much abuse making them susceptible to ailments such as pneumonia.”

“The cold also aggravates their arthritis which is a common issue that our rescued elephants have to deal with.”

With the average female Asian elephant weighing in at 2.7kg, and the average adult male weighing on average 5.4kg, getting them kitted up against the cold is no small feat.

The elephants sure look happy with the results though!

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