Three-legged elephant receives new artificial leg (video)

Mosha The Three-Legged Elephant Gets Fitted With New Prosthetic

A three-legged Asian elephant has finally received a new prosthetic leg after outgrowing her old one.

Mosha, a nine-year-old female, was brought to the Friends of the Asian Elephant Hospital in the MaeYao National Reserve in Lampang, Thailand, when she was just seven months old after stepping on a landmine in 2007.

It was first feared she would not survive after shunning food and company, but she soon learned to limp on three legs.

Then, a Dr Therdchai Jivacate, who runs a clinic for human amputees, created an artificial leg for her, making her the first elephant in the world to receive a prosthetic limb.

However, she soon outgrew the leg, and, according to the Independent, has now been fitted with a new limb that has been specially engineered from plastic, sawdust and metal, to cope with her weight.

Staff are seen fitting the elephant's new leg over a sock, and she appears visibly pleased, throwing sand on her back in 'celebration'.

According to the Daily Mail, the elephant hospital was opened by Soraida Salwala in 1993.

It has since treated over 3,900 sick and injured elephants from injuries including gunshot wounds, broken bones and even drug addictions.