14 DAY TRIAL // A few days ago, a baby Sumatran elephant held hostage by villagers in Indonesia was rescued by a group of conservationists and taken to a local animal sanctuary.
The villagers who used to look after the baby elephant say that, when they first found him, Raju was wondering through the local forest. His mother was nowhere in sight.
They maintain that they only brought it back to the village because they wanted to take proper care of him, Mongabay reports.
However, conservationists doubt their words, seeing how these villagers put up quite a fight when learning that Raju could be sent to the Saree Elephant Conservation Center.
Thus, it is possible that they wished to sell the baby elephant to illegal traders.
Though he is only a few weeks old, Raju appears to be in good health. The people now looking after him believe that he is an orphan.