Now aged three, Mosha wolfs down 200lb of food a day and has had to have a larger limb fitted to support her bulk.
“She has grown in confidence and now likes to play with the others.”
Landmines still pose a threat to the Thais. A recent survey estimated there are about 100 new casualties each year.
The majority of the banned weapons are thought to have been placed by insurgents, most commonly in the south of the country.
FAE staff member Soraida Salwala said: “Mosha should live many long, happy, elephant years.
Fake leg ... Mosha the elephant
She was close to death and just seven months old when she was taken in by the
Friends of the Asian Elephant hospital (FAE) in Lampang, Thailand, in 2007.
Her leg was blown off when she
stepped on a landmine.
Medics feared the worst as she stumbled around on three legs and refused to
eat. But her life was saved when she became the first elephant to be fitted
with a prosthetic leg.
Dr Therdchai Jivacate, who runs Thailand’s Prostheses Foundation for humans,
was the brains behind the idea. He said before making the fake leg in 2007:
“If she cannot walk, she is going to die.”
Stumped ... Mosha minus fake limb
His team at the foundation successfully fitted the limb — crafted from
plastic, sawdust and metal — and she lives at an orphanage for elephants in
the tropical jungle of northern Thailand, near the Cambodian border.
Click below to see more cute pictures of Mosha
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