Tag Archives: factory

Help Complete The Elephant Leg Factory

Mosha Wearing LegD The prosthetic leg factory, just for elephants, will soon be operating at Friends of the Asian Elephant hospital in Thailand. This is a unique and wonderful facility that can make and repair custom-fit artificial limbs for elephants who need them.

Why do elephants need replacement legs? For the same reason people do. Something horrible has happened to these elephants and one of their legs was damaged so badly that it needed to be amputated. The most common situation is that a working elephant accidentally steps on a hidden land mine from some long forgotten conflict in Southeast Asia. In seconds, massive amounts of flesh are shredded, leaving the poor, unsuspecting elephant to limp back to its camp.

An elephant with half a leg can barely walk, much less work. The most dire option is to mercifully euthanize the elephant. Nobody wants that option if there is any hope whatsoever. Today, there is.

LegFactoryEquip3Friends of the Asian Elephant is dedicated to treating sick and injured elephants in the Thailand – Burma area. They have worked with leading prosthetics doctors to develop an artificial leg that can take the weight of a walking elephant, yet cause no pain or further damage.

The legs work beautifully. Two pioneering patients, Mosha and Motala, have proven that elephants nearly killed from exploding land mines can recover and lead relatively normal elephant lives. The only problem remaining is that the legs need frequent repairs from the enormous stresses of movement. Growing younger elephants, like Mosha, need new legs the way we need new and larger pairs of shoes as we grow up. Often this means long waits for equipment and expertise to arrive at the hospital.

LegFactory021316EAThis is what the new elephant prosthetic leg “factory” will fix. A building has been constructed on-site and tools and equipment ordered. Everything is being installed right now. Within the next month, they hope to start working on the first elephant leg repairs and replacements.

Does this sound like a worthy effort that you would like to help finish? Your support is needed right now to pay for all of the construction, specialized equipment, tools, and supplies that are needed to make new elephant “legs.” We’ve raised over half the amount required, and now must make a final push to collect the money needed to pay the bills and ensure that when elephants need legs, everything will be there to make or repair them.

Please consider making a donation right now, while you are thinking of it. Any amount from $10 on up will be greatly appreciated. Our CrowdRise fundraiser can take credit card payments worldwide.

Building a Factory to Make New Legs for Elephants

mosha82809fHere’s an opportunity to be part of an amazing project that will make a huge difference, indeed the difference between life and death, for Asian elephants disabled by land mine explosions.
Oh, you didn’t know that elephants could step on land mines? It happens in former battle zones in Southeast Asia. Cheap land mines that were once intended for enemy armies still lie abandoned by the thousands. All it takes in one wrong step in the jungle and… the loss of a foot or even an entire leg.

Elephants are very resilient creatures, but even they can’t hobble around in pain on shredded limbs. Of course, its not possible to make them whole again… but it is possible to give them the closest thing possible to the mobility they enjoyed before the accident. Friends of the Asian Elephant hospital in Thailand has pioneered a process to create prosthetic legs that can take the  weight and stresses of movement of massive elephants. They work much the same as artificial legs for humans, but built sturdier. Two land mine victims, Mosha and Motala have worn theirs for years. The only problem is how do you get one-of-a-kind custom fit elephant legs repaired when they break and how can you quickly make more when new patients arrive at the hospital?

Whmoshaslegsm2.10.01.09at FAE hospital has decided to do is create a workshop “factory” to fabricate, adjust and repair prosthetic limbs for elephants on-site. This will make it possible to help disabled elephants almost in real-time compared to the weeks and months the process takes now.The one snag is… it’s not cheap to build such a facility. The cost is estimated at 400,000 THB equi
valent to over $11,300 USD. Even so, can you think of a more valuable asset to help these ailing eles.

Here’s where we come in. I’ve launched a CrowdRise fundraiser to Help Build The Elephant Leg Factory. We’re going to raise the money needed to build and stock this new workshop with the tools and supplies to serve Mosha, Motala, and any other elephants in need. Will you help us raise the $11,500 we’ve set as our goal as soon as possible? You can donate quickly and easily through our CrowdRise fundraising page.