Motala,a sixty- year- old Asian elephant calmly eats lunch at the hospital of the Friends of the Asian Elephant in Lampang, northern Thailand, where she has stayed since 1999. While being used in forestry logging near the Myanmar and Thai border, Motala stepped on a landmine and severely damaged her front left leg and injured her right foot.
She was taken by truck hundreds of miles to the FAE hospital in Lampang where she has undergone surgery including amputation of the lower left leg, and been fitted with a prosthesis which she occasionally uses to walk . These are frequently replaced.
The FAE is a charity funded by donors.
I have often visited Motala since she came to Lampang and have been present during surgery.