After 50 years of captivity, the elephant has been taken to a sanctuary in northern India where he is in the company of five female elephants, collectively dubbed the ‘Herd of Hope’ after all being rescued from abuse.
After 50 brutal years of being used as a "beggar's prop," Raju finally has a family of his own.
The tortured elephant who made headlines in July for crying upon his release from captivity has joined five striking female pachyderms at his new home in India.
Tear-jerking video shows the gentle giant being welcomed to the Wildlife SOS’s Elephant Conservation and Care Center refuge in Mathura by his new companions.
Raju — believed to have been snatched from his mom as a young calf and to have been traded among 27 owners over the course of five grueling decades — joined new pals Laxmi, Chanchal, Sai Geeta, Phoolkali and Maya the sanctuary.
The female pachyderms flapped their ears, trumpeted greetings and touched Raju with their trunks — all signs of joy.
His new family members, collectively dubbed the "Herd of Hope," were all rescued by the Wildlife SOS charity, which also saved Raju from a life of "hell" during a nighttime raid early July.
Raju and his herd seen here hanging out in the water.
"We're delighted he's fitted in so well with the first family he's had since poachers orphaned him as a calf," charity boss and founder Kartick Satyanarayan said told The Mirror.
"He'd been so brutalized for 50 years we feared he couldn't live with his own kind. He didn't even know how to be an elephant. But now it's like he's always been with them," he added.
Raju, whose legs had been restricted with spiked chains throughout his entire life, had been forced to work begging and giving tourist rides from dawn to dusk.
"He's been treated as a commodity and beaten into accepting his new handler every two years of his life," said Satyanarayan, according to AOL Travel UK.
Found in a "pathetic" condition, he hadn't been fed properly for months — and had started eating scraps of plastic and paper in a desperate bid to survive.
The rescued elephant dines on mangos, melons and bananas.
He was finally freed from the horrific conditions July 4 — when a daring team of rescuers swooped in to release him from his confinement.
Vets and wildlife experts from the charity were joined by 20 Forestry Commission officers and two cops in the dangerous nighttime operation.
The squad raided the farm in India's Uttar Pradesh region, where Raju was being kept.
And they claim that, as they liberated him, he openly wept because he realized that his ordeal was finally coming to an end.
The rescue mission took place a year to the day after the charity had been alerted to Raju's plight by the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department.
Tending Raju's wounds.
A court order allowed rescuers to seize the giant animal, but Raju's owner refused to give him up.
Deciding enough was enough, and seeing the terrible suffering that the elephant was enduring, they approached with a truck.
They loaded the sedated bull onto the back before driving him 350 miles to the center, where he joined his five new female friends.
Raju is not alone with his suffering, however, as his new pals have also suffered a lifetime of abuse before being rescued.
For example, Laxmi, 18, was saved from the streets of Mumbai 10 months ago — suffering from severe arthritis, obesity and a heart condition.
Chanchal, 16, was saved in June 2012 on the outskirts of Delhi after she and a second elephant — who was killed — were hit by a speeding truck.
Sai Geeta, also known as a Bijli, was a circus elephant rescued after she was made to perform for years with a broken right rear leg.
And Phoolkali, who is blind in one eye, was smuggled illegally for years before the charity was alerted to her plight and stepped in.
Satyanarayan said that it was the generosity of people from across the world that had helped with the rehabilitation of the animals.
"We hope that if the donations continue, better facilities can be established for Raju and the other elephants at the center who all deserve a better life to make up for the abuse they suffered all these years," he said to AOL Travel UK.
"When we rescued him, Raju had never been in a pool before — and now he spends hours relaxing inside it. We'd like to thank everyone who made a donation — every penny has made such a difference to the quality of his life," he added.
The charity has now launched an appeal for $35,000 to mark World Elephant Day on Aug. 12, which it will put towards rescuing over animals such as Raju.
Raju takes a bath
