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 year 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 31/2 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 elephant in the hard. A special Fiberglass wrap was used to encase the injured leg. Surgical equipment used included handsaws and power drills. Mandavu's is the first elephant leg to be successfully healed through a bone- pinning method. Photo shows Her leg in the cast, Mandavu is happy to be back in the sunshine with her friends
