Gay, the elephant, gets some new shoes

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Several days ago, Unleashed posted a story on Motola, a 48-year-old elephant in Thailand who lost part of her left front foot from stepping on a land mine. Her caretakers, a private group called the Friends of the Asian Elephant, fitted her with a prosthesis so she can continue to walk on all four legs.

In similar elephant-limb news, caretakers at the Paignton Zoo Environmental Park in England have created shoes for Gay, an Asian elephant who suffers from foot abscesses. After making sketches of Gay’s foot, the caretakers sent patterns to a company in Australia to design and create specially made shoes for the elephant. It’s estimated that each of the shoes costs around $350.

Ghislaine Sayers, head of veterinary services at the zoo, said: ‘The boots will help to keep the feet clean between baths and allow us to put on dressings that will help to remove dead tissue, decrease infection and promote healing.

‘Elephants can get sore feet for all sorts of reasons -- posture, age, arthritis, lack of exercise, even a genetic predisposition to foot disease.’

In addition to the shoes, the zoo has laid down 100 tons of sand and rubber matting to provide Gay with a more comfortable surface to walk on.

-- Sarah Ardalani