These heartwarming pictures show how an elephant who lost his leg to a poacher’s snare trap has embraced his new life with a prosthetic limb.
Chhouk the elephant was found close to death in a Cambodian forest when he was less than two years old, severely malnourished and nursing his infected wound.
Chhouk the elephant walks with his prosthetic left leg, which was fitted by medics in Cambodia after he lost the limb to a poacher’s snare trap and was left severely malnourished in a forest
Chhouk having an X-ray in which his missing limb is visible after he lost it to a snare trap, the constriction cutting off the blood sufficiently to kill the flesh below
Chhouk being fitted with his prosthetic leg which was supplied by the Cambodian School of Prosthetics and Orthotics
Chhouk taking a dip in the pool as another elephant stands by the side of the water. Carers say that the rescued elephant spends his day with another elephant called Lucky in his large outdoor enclosure
‘I was extremely worried for the track was rocky and undulating. If Chhouk fell he could injure himself further,’ Nick said.
2007: Chhouk is tethered to a tree for his own protection after he was found in the Cambodian forest when he was less than two years old, severely malnourished and nursing an infected wound
2007: A rescuer with a younger Chhouk in the Cambodian forest where he was found after losing his leg to a poacher
‘The healing powers of wild animals can be amazing and each week when we undressed the leg we could almost see the skin re-growing down the leg and around the under-side of the remaining stump until it was completely healed, with the skin finally covering the entire area once again.’
Chhouk has since been given prosthetics by the Cambodian School of Prosthetics and Orthotics (CSPO) to help him walk.
Chhouk walking with his prosthetic leg at his outdoor enclosure in Cambodia. Rescuers say he is fed a regular diet of leaves, branches, cane tips, bananas, grass, or coconuts
The prosthetics which animal rescuers have fitted to Chhouk’s leg. Every evening his damaged leg is inspected again, the shoe changed and he is inside for the night for his own safety
‘Our elephant keepers have trained Chhouk using only reward based positive reinforcement in order to effectively change his prosthetic leg.
‘He will not be fed until his shoe has been changed as we need him to be a little hungry for him to do as we require.’
‘He spends his day with Lucky (another elephant) in his large outside enclosure. In the evening his damaged leg is inspected again, the shoe changed and he is inside for the night for his own safety.’
Chhouk is let out of his night stall each morning and throughout the day, while his two caretakers look after his daily needs and take care of his foot (they are pictured fitting his prosthetics)
Rescuers say that Chhouk (pictured) is ‘celebrated as a successful rescue story’ after becoming the first elephant in Cambodia to be successfully fitted with a prosthesis
Chhouk with Tam, one of the Wildlife Alliance Rescue and Care team which helps to look after the elephant