Unforgettable first steps in life: Because he injured his leg in a trap. Baby elephant tries to forget his fear of water to receive hydrotherapy to learn how to walk again

THIS baby elephant is trying to forget her fear of water as she learns to walk again after losing part of her foot.

The nervous six-month-old grabbed a keeper for support as she was lowered into the pool at an animal hospital in Chonburi, Thailand.

A baby elephant named Clear Sky is learning to walk again in a swimming pool after she injured her footCredit: Getty Images

 

The six-month-old is the first elephant to receive hydrotherapy at the Nong Nooch Tropical Garden animal hospital in ThailandCredit: Getty Images

12Clear Sky, an orphan, caught her leg in an animal trap laid by villagers to protect their cropsCredit: Getty Images

Orphaned Clear Sky, who later seemed to enjoy herself, is the first elephant to receive hydrotherapy at the Nong Nooch Tropical Garden.

She was injured in a snare set by villagers protecting their crops.

After surgery she is now having treatment to strengthen her leg muscles.

Staffers use a harness to help Clear Sky into the water and keep her afloatCredit: Getty Images

This was her second time getting water therapyCredit: Getty Images

Baby elephants usually love water, but Clear Sky was ‘a bit nervous and scared’, said a vetCredit: Getty Images

However she appeared to relax by the end of the hour-long sessionCredit: Getty Images

Vet Padet Siridumrong said: “She is still a bit nervous and scared of the water.

“Usually baby elephants love the water.

“If she can do this regularly she will have fun.”

Villagers had found Clear Sky hungry and hobbling, after being separated from her mother in the wild.

 

Vets hope with more swimming, she won’t need an artificial legCredit: Getty Images

The orphaned elephant was in bad shape when she arrived at the hospitalCredit: Getty Images

She was hobbling, in pain and in dire need of milkCredit: Getty Images

‘We named her Clear Sky Up Ahead, because that is what she will need while she is with us,’ said the director of the zoo where she now livesCredit: Getty Images