Look who’s been spotted wearing some stylish jumpers to beat the cold this month! It’s the elephants of India, who’re sporting these colourful sweaters, knitted by women residing near Mathura, so as to protect the animals from the near-freezing temperatures.

The women belong to a village near the Wildlife SOS Elephant Conservation and Care Centre in Mathura and reportedly began knitting and producing these colourful garments for the adorable animals after they were warned about how temperatures were dipping close to freezing point.

These carefully embroidered garments cover the back, neck and legs of the elephants who have previously suffered from neglect and beating from their previous owners, before being rescued by the conservation owners.

Courtesy: Roger Allen

Kartick Satyanarayan, the co-founder and CEO of Wildlife SOS, spoke to TOI about how, “It is important to keep our elephants protected from the bitter cold during this extreme winter, as 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”.

The conservation centre has rescued about 20 elephants from illegal trafficking and exploitation and they plan to rescue about 50 more this year.

Featured image courtesy: Roger Allen 

Other images: Instagram, Wildlife SOS