Elephants in sweaters are adorable. Until you realize why they have them.
In North India, winter temperatures are dropping to record lows, causing problems for crops, trains, and an ex-circus performer named Suzy.
Suzy is toothless, blind, and just one of 23 formerly abused elephants living at the Wildlife SOS Elephant Conservation and Care Center in Mathura, India.
"The rescued elephants under rehabilitation at Wildlife SOS have been rescued from shocking circumstances," said Geeta Seshamani, the center's secretary and co-founder. "We aim to provide them with a safe habitat where they can live like elephants.
Suzy takes a walk with help from her seeing-eye humans. All photos via Wildlife SOS, used with permission.
Wildlife SOS knows how to deal with damage from poaching and captivity. But the threat of below-freezing weather? That's something new.
Despite their thick hides and massive size, elephants are still susceptible to the effects of cold weather. It's not a problem they usually encounter in their natural habitats, but, well, the effects of climate change are altering the places these animals call home.
According to Kartick Satyanarayan, Wildlife SOS's co-founder and CEO, cold weather can aggravate arthritis and other problems in even the most able-bodied elephants. For elephants like Suzy, it can be even worse. "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," Satyanarayan said.
Humans have problems with the cold too. That's why we wear coats. So Satyanarayan and his team figured, why not do the same for elephants?
Thanks to a few women from the nearby village and one dedicated stitcher on staff, Suzy and the other elephants at Wildlife SOS will each have their own tarpaulin cloaks to help keep them warm through the chilly winter, while also protecting them from rain and dew.
Here's Suzy showin' off her stuff:
"They really took to their jumpers!" Satyanarayan told the Daily Mail.
"I know in some countries it is a bit of a joke to wear the most outlandish one you can for Christmas. But the elephants care less about fashion and more about being warm."
Don't believe him? Just ask Lilly:
The elephant jumper project is still a work in progress while they figure out what's best for the animals.
"We want to come up with a solution to keep these animals warm, that’s all," explained Baiju Raj, director of conservation projects, in an interview with Scroll.In magazine.
For example, they tried to do a photoshoot with the elephants wearing the pachyderm equivalent of footie pajamas in hopes of raising money to continue their efforts and find the best approach for elephant outerwear. But according to Raj, "The pajamas made the elephants uncomfortable. They kicked them off after the shoot."
Photo by Roger Allen/Daily Mail, via Wildlife SOS, used with permission.
As delightful and adorable as these winter coats might look, it's important to remember they're just temporary solutions for bigger problems like poaching and climate change.
We can't undo damage done to the planet or the other animals that inhabit it. But it's good to know that we can still find solutions to protect the world and animals we have now. I'm sure that Suzy the elephant appreciates it more than we know
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An Irish woman went to the doctor for a routine eye exam. She left with bright neon green eyes.
It's not easy seeing green.
Did she get superpowers?
Going to the eye doctor can be a hassle and a pain. It's not just the routine issues and inconveniences that come along when making a doctor appointment, but sometimes the various devices being used to check your eyes' health feel invasive and uncomfortable. But at least at the end of the appointment, most of us don't look like we're turning into The Incredible Hulk. That wasn't the case for one Irish woman.
Photographer Margerita B. Wargola was just going in for a routine eye exam at the hospital but ended up leaving with her eyes a shocking, bright neon green.
At the doctor's office, the nurse practitioner was prepping Wargola for a test with a machine that Wargola had experienced before. Before the test started, Wargola presumed the nurse had dropped some saline into her eyes, as they were feeling dry. After she blinked, everything went yellow.
Wargola and the nurse initially panicked. Neither knew what was going on as Wargola suddenly had yellow vision and radioactive-looking green eyes. After the initial shock, both realized the issue: the nurse forgot to ask Wargola to remove her contact lenses before putting contrast drops in her eyes for the exam. Wargola and the nurse quickly removed the lenses from her eyes and washed them thoroughly with saline. Fortunately, Wargola's eyes were unharmed. Unfortunately, her contacts were permanently stained and she didn't bring a spare pair.
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Since she has poor vision, Wargola was forced to drive herself home after the eye exam wearing the neon-green contact lenses that make her look like a member of the Green Lantern Corps. She couldn't help but laugh at her predicament and recorded a video explaining it all on social media. Since then, her video has sparked a couple Reddit threads and collected a bunch of comments on Instagram:
“But the REAL question is: do you now have X-Ray vision?”
“You can just say you're a superhero.”
“I would make a few stops on the way home just to freak some people out!”
“I would have lived it up! Grab a coffee, do grocery shopping, walk around a shopping center.”
“This one would pair well with that girl who ate something with turmeric with her invisalign on and walked around Paris smiling at people with seemingly BRIGHT YELLOW TEETH.”
“I would save those for fancy special occasions! WOW!”
“Every time I'd stop I'd turn slowly and stare at the person in the car next to me.”
“Keep them. Tell people what to do. They’ll do your bidding.”
In a follow-up Instagram video, Wargola showed her followers that she was safe at home with normal eyes, showing that the damaged contact lenses were so stained that they turned the saline solution in her contacts case into a bright Gatorade yellow. She wasn't mad at the nurse and, in fact, plans on keeping the lenses to wear on St. Patrick's Day or some other special occasion.
While no harm was done and a good laugh was had, it's still best for doctors, nurses, and patients alike to double-check and ask or tell if contact lenses are being worn before each eye test. If not, there might be more than ultra-green eyes to worry about.