A Thai elephant that attracted worldwide attention when it stepped on a land mine and had its foot amputated six years ago has been fitted with a temporary prosthesis, a wildlife conservation worker said Sunday.

The 44-year-old female tusker, Motola, is expected to wear the lightweight, canvas shoe-like device for five to eight months until her leg is strong enough to carry a heavier permanent one, said Soraida Salwala, founder of the Friends of the Asian Elephant hospital in northern Thailand.

Motola was injured in 1999 while working at a logging camp near the border with neighboring Myanmar, a region peppered with landmines after a half-century of insurgency. Her mangled left front foot was amputated at the hospital on Auguar 28 that year, and she has hobbled on three feet since.

Veterinarians at the hospital have been attaching the sawdust-filled prosthesis to Motola daily since Aug. 10 as a therapeutic measure to help prepare the sweet-natured beast for a permanent one to be made from fiberglass and silicone, she said.

"We have to mold her leg," Soraida said. "If it doesn't fit, then it doesn't stay."

In the meantime, the current prosthesis may be replaced by a heavier one, perhaps filled with sand, to further exercise and strengthen the elephant's leg muscles and tendons before veterinarians attempt to attach the permanent version, she added.

　　泰国一位野生动物保护工作者8月28日表示，于6年前踩到地雷而失去了左前肢的泰国大象摩塔拉已经装上了一个临时性的假肢。

　　据美联社8月28日报道，“亚洲象之友”动物基金会的秘书长苏赖达·萨瓦拉日前表示，摩塔拉现在安装的这个像帆布鞋一样的临时假肢重量较轻，将使用5至8个月，直到摩塔拉的腿足够强壮，可以承受另外一个更重一些的永久性假肢。

　　从8月10日开始，兽医们每天都会给摩塔拉系上这个装满锯屑的假肢。这被作为一项治疗措施，以帮助它准备安装由玻璃纤维和硅树脂制成的永久性假肢。萨瓦拉还表示，在兽医给摩塔拉装永久性假肢之前，现在使用的这个假肢也可能会被更重一点（或许填充着沙子）的假肢所代替，以便对摩塔拉的腿部肌肉和肌腱进行更进一步的加强训练。

　　报道说，摩塔拉是一只44岁的雌性大象。1999年的时候，它在泰缅边境附近的一个伐木场工作时，不幸踩到地雷，因此被切除了左前肢。从那以后，摩塔拉就成为了一只用3条腿蹒跚而行的大象。它的这段不幸经历也引起了世人的广泛关注，人们纷纷为它捐款，以安装假肢。