Animals - Aquariums - Archeology - Insects - Fossils - Zoos

Feb. 25 Back with the pack after an elephantine operation: When a 7, 000 pound adult elephant breaks a leg it can be fatal. In the wild a stricken elephant may not fall prey to anything, but probably it can't reach food or water. But when Mandavu, a 12 yer old female African bush elephant in the San Diego wild Animal park in California, fell into a most last September and fractured her right rear leg she also fell into good hands. After an extremely risky 3 1/2 hour operation in which her leg was pinned together with a special one inch diameter pin, Mandavu is now strong enough to return to her fellow seven elephants in the herd. A special Fibreglass wrap was used to encase the injured leg. Surgical equipment used included handsaws andpower drills. Mandavu is the first elephant leg to be successfully healed through a bone pinning method. Picture shows Orthopedic technologist Thomas Byrbe examines the fitting of the 1 foot long stainless steel pin in Mandavu's leg

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Anything Breaks Cant Diameter Drills Elephantine Elephants Encase Enough Examines Extremely Fatal Fellow Fibreglass Fitting Fractured Healed Herd Inch Method Orthopedic Pinned Pinning Pound Reach Risky Stainless Stricken Successfully Surgical Technologist Wrap

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