A picture of an elephant wearing knitted jumpers and covers to protect itself from near-freezing temperatures in North India is going viral on the Internet.

The picture was shared on Twitter by IFS officer Parveen Kaswan and shows an elephant standing with two women and wearing a multicoloured cover and red jumpers.

The picture was tweeted by Kaswan with the caption, "#IncredibleIndia. Villagers knit jumpers for Indian elephants to protect the large mammals from near-freezing temperatures. From Mathura. Pic by Roger Allen."

#IncredibleIndia. Villagers knit jumpers for Indian elephants to protect the large mammals from near-freezing temperatures. From Mathura. Pic by Roger Allen. @WildlifeSOS pic.twitter.com/oEcAKj7nYk Parveen Kaswan, IFS (@ParveenKaswan) December 28, 2019

According to him, the jumper and the covers were provided by villagers in Mathura to the large mammal, to protect it from cold weather. The picture was clicked by Roger Allen and is from Mathura.

He tweeted the picture on December 28 and later also clarified that though the animal looks adorable, it rarely requires this kind of domestication. He also added that generally elephants adapt themselves to the cold temperatures.

He tweeted, "It looks cute in this old picture. But I am not sure if they needed this much domestication. They are already adapted to these temperatures."

It looks cute in this old picture. But I am not sure if they needed this much domestication. They are already adapted to these temperatures. Parveen Kaswan, IFS (@ParveenKaswan) December 28, 2019

After the picture was shared online many people praised the efforts of the villagers to provide comfort to the animal. While some praised, some Twitter users criticised them too. Praising the villagers, one user wrote, "This is so awesome. Love it."

Here’s what Twitter is saying:

Looks cute but is silly. Seems more for photo-ops rather than anything more Vineet (@samvatsarah) December 28, 2019

This is so awesome . Love it Sanjit (@jsigns7) December 28, 2019

Sweetest thing Maitri Behura (@maitribehura) December 28, 2019

Saw many houses doing this for their cows & goats in Assam as well... Prakks (@Prakksy) December 28, 2019

It's nice to see that they take care of them! Marite (@ttsnoopy) December 28, 2019

At the time of writing this article the tweet already had over 559 retweets and 2k likes. What do you think about the picture?

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