Elephant Gets Prosthetic Leg
March 11, 2009
Three year old Mosha was the World’s first elephant amputee and at only 7 months old need a prosthetic leg. Mosha lost her leg after stepping on a land mine.
Mosha was rescued and taken to the Friends of the Asian Elephant Hospital, from her home the tropical jungle near the Cambodian border to Lampang, Thaiiland. There Mosha had her first prosthetic leg made and fitted in 2007.
According to Moshas’ keeper before the leg fitted she was:
“Depressed, self-conscious and wouldn’t socialise”.
There are 100 new landmine victims in Thailand ever year and Mosha looked likely to die. She was then taken to human amputee foundation runner, Dr Therdchai Jivacate, who had made thousands of human prosthetics but never elephant.
Keeper Soraida Salwala said:
“When Mosha first saw her artificial leg she was scared of it. But as soon as the doctors put it on and she felt she could put some weight on it she didn’t want to let them take it off. Mosha should live many long, happy elephant years,”
Now doctors are making Mosha her new leg due to her continued growth and health.
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One Response to “Elephant Gets Prosthetic Leg”
This is possibly the cutest blog I have read to date! I love elephants and think that programme Elephant Diaries is awesome. If this little elephant had been on that and I think I would have been crying my eyes out - so glad she likes her new leg!!!
By Heidi on Mar 27, 2009