Elephant in Thailand gets new prosthetic leg

Elephant in Thailand gets new prosthetic leg

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Motala had lost the appendage in 1999 after she accidentally stepped on a land mine.

04 September,2011 10:57 am

A 50-year-old elephant in Thailand who lost her left front leg a few years ago is now kicking it up with a new prosthetic.The elephant, named Motala, lost the appendage in 1999 after she accidentally stepped on a land mine left over from the ongoing conflicts along the Thai-Myanmar border.At the time, she had been a working elephant who moved trees for a living, and was simply foraging for food in the forest when the accident occurred.Her owners tried to save the leg, but eventually it had to be amputated. And it wasnt until 2006 that she was able to get her first artificial leg, a temporary one that she learned to walk on, before getting a more permanent prosthesis in 2009.Since the prosthetic has to be changed according to the weight of the elephant, Motala has been given other legs accordingly. She most recently received her third one.