Meet the first two elephants to have been given prosthetic legs after they were severely injured when they stepped on landmines in south east Asia.
Mosha and Motola, who live at the Asian Elephant Foundation in northern Thailand, both lost legs more than a decade ago when they were just calfs.
They made headlines several years ago when they became the first and second elephant to be fitted with prosthetic limbs, but as they grow larger surgeons have to design new and stronger legs for them.
Mosha and Motola (pictured), who live at the Asian Elephant Foundation in northern Thailand, have been fitted with prosthetic limbs after losing their legs in landmine accidents more than a decade ago
Mosha received her ninth prosthetic leg on Wednesday.
She was just seven-months when she stepped on a landmine along the Thai-Myanmar border 10 years ago.
She was rushed to a hospital associated with the Asian Elephant Foundation and has been cared for by them ever since.
Two years after her accident, surgeon Therdchai Jivacate gave her a new leg and a new life. As she has grown, he has designed new, longer and stronger legs for her.
As they grow larger, surgeons have to design new and stronger legs for them and Mosha (pictured) received her ninth prosthetic on Wednesday
Motala, who was pictured being fitted for her prosthetic leg on Wednesday, stepped on a landmine 16 years ago near the Thai-Myanmar border
As elephants grow larger, surgeons at the Asian Elephant Foundation in northern Thailand have to design new and stronger legs for them
Motala (pictured) stepped on a landmine 16 years ago and has been cared for by the Asian Elephant Foundation since. She became the second elephant to be fitted with a prosthetic leg after Mosha
Mosha was first fitted with her prosthetic eight years ago by surgeon Therdchai Jivacate. As she has grown, he has designed new, longer and stronger legs for her
‘The way she walked was unbalanced and her spine was going to bend,’ Therdchai, 72, said of Mosha before receiving her latest leg. ‘She would have died.’
Mosha, who weighed only 600 kg when she was given her first artificial limb, now weighs over 2,000 kg.
Motala stepped on a landmine 16 years ago. She became the second elephant to be fitted with a prosthetic leg after Mosha.
The nature of her injury and growth means she isn’t as comfortable with her prosthetic, according to the Asian Elephant Foundation hospital.
Founded in 1993, the facility was the world’s first elephant hospital and currently has 17 patients.
The Thai-Myanmar border is still dotted with landmines left over from clashes between ethnic-minority rebels and the Myanmar army dating back decades.
Mosha , who weighed only 600 kg when she was given her first artificial limb, now weighs over 2,000 kg
Engineer Boonyu Thippaya (left) and a member of his team work to adjust a prosthetic leg for an elephant injured by a landmine
Engineer Boonyu Thippaya works on building a new prosthetic leg for one of the animals at the Asian Elephant Foundation in northern Thailand
Founded in 1993, the facility was the world’s first elephant hospital and currently has 17 patients
Mosha and Motola, who live at the Asian Elephant Foundation in northern Thailand, both lost legs more than a decade ago when they were just calfs