Saturday, August 22, 2009

Prosthetic Elephant leg

The Lieutenant Dan of Elephants:
Ten years ago, an elephant working in an illegal Thai logging camp near the Burmese/Myanmar border stepped on one of the many landmines still buried in the area. As a result, she had to have her left front foot amputated. The surgery required a world record-setting amount of anesthetic drugs -- enough for 70 grown men. According to JodysJungle.com, the resulting wounds took so long to heal that the initial prosthetic leg planned for Motala wasn't able to be used.

On August 15, the 48-year-old, three-ton elephant (who is a resident of the world's only elephant hospital set up by Friends of the Asian Elephant, or FAE) was fitted with a new, permanent prosthetic leg, reports the Associated Press. Motala's first walk with the new leg lasted about 10 minutes and she celebrated by tossing dirt in the air.
In the words of Forrest Gump, "You got new legs!"

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