Most vets involved in one procedure

In August 1999, over 30 vets worked together during an operation on Motala, a 38 year-old cow elephant whose left foot was destroyed after she stepped on a land mine. The procedure took place at the Hang Chat Elephant Hospital in Lampang, Thailand. The vets used enough anaesthetic to knock out 70 humans. In August 2005, Motala was fitted with a prosthetic foot initially made from a sawdust-filled canvas boot, before being replaced with a more permanent silicon/fiberglass limb. Motala walked over 60 miles after stepping on a land mine as she was foraging for food on the rugged Thai-Myanmar border during a break from hauling logs out of the forest. The blast completely shredded the elephant's left foot. Then the animal had to hobble through the mountains out of Myanmar/Burma, and then along sealed roads for three days to reach the elephant hospital. By the time Motala had completed the 60-mile trek, the flesh of her foot had started to decompose. Elephants are regarded as a cult icon in Thai culture.

Motola's plight captured the spirit of the Thai nation, with public donations topping $105,000 to help the injured elephant. She had been foraging for food when a land mine exploded, ripping apart her left leg. Vets at the Lampang Hospital, who usually treat elephants for everything from snakebites to broken limbs, said they were the worst wounds that they had ever seen at the medical center. The elephant had to be maneuvered in a huge sling held by a crane while the 30 surgeons carried out the operation. Animal experts hoped that once Motala had recovered from her surgery that they would be able to fit a prosthetic device to enable her to walk again.