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Together We Can Create A Better World For All Elephants
BIONIC GIANTS 2
Help Needed for 3 elephants at elephant nature park
WE HAVE A TIME FRAME OF 3 WEEKS - Derrick will be back on the road filming soon and this is our window of opportunity while he has the time!
Gentle Giants Elephants is collaborating once more with Derrick Campana of Bionic Pets to create three elephant orthotics that will significantly help three elephants. Not only will these orthotics be proactive in stopping their conditions from degenerating more, but they will offer comfort, reduce pain, increase mobility and help all three ladies live a greater quality life as they continue to age. But we need your help to make this dream a reality!! Please donate - No amount is too small!
1. Medo, a forced breeding victim, requires a orthotic lift to help reduce her pain, increase stability & mobility; but MOST importantly, to stop her weight from crushing her good back leg; which would lead to shortening her life! Mr. Derrick Campana of Bionic Pets told GG that this was imperative and immediate.
2. Kabu, a logging slave victim, requires an able-bodied extension orthotic to dramatically reduce the great pain she is in, as well as help with greater mobility.
3. THAI KOON - a landmine victim, needs a "Bootie" with special gel liner to provide more comfort so she is able to bare more weight & significantly reduce pain on injured foot; preventing further deteriorate and deformation to her shoulder and elbow.
The Goal Amount includes the cost of casting three elephant legs; engineering and building three separate, specialized elephant orthotics; plus shipping to and from Thailand.
Our Ladies Stories:
1. The story of Kabu’s life is full of sadness and pain. Kabu, born around 1990, was rescued on the 22nd September 2015 from logging to Elephant Nature Pak. Her mother was a logging elephant. She had to go with her mom while she pushed and pulled logs. At two years old, a log rolled out of control and struck Kabu, breaking her front left wrist. It healed badly and left her very handicapped. Despite this, when she was old enough, she was also put to work in logging doing light labor. She was also subjected to forced breeding. Kabu had two babies, neither of which she was allowed to keep for very long. One was a bull, who died soon after his spirit was broken. The other a female who was sold into the elephant show industry. Since Kabu had to over use her right front leg to carry her weight, it has also grown very deformed.
2. Medo is a medium sized female born around 1976. The majority of her working days were spent in logging camps. She was rescued from a very remote area near the Thai/Burma border, and arrived at Elephant Nature Park in June 2006. Medo was put to work at the tender age of just eight years old. She hauled logs in the mountains spanning the border region for 4 years, until she was seriously injured when a heavy log fell on her, breaking her rear left ankle. Unable to work, 12 year old Medo’s contract with the logging company was cancelled. The bone never properly set, and even to this day her original injury is evident. Medo was brought from camp to camp, but no one was interested in employing a lame elephant. To get some kind of income out of her, Medo would be made to breed. They found the largest and strongest bull they could, a big tusker. Medo was chained by four legs. The huge bull was in musth though, and rather than simply breeding with her, he savagely attacked her, pinning her on the ground with his tusk. She screamed in pain but no one would risk coming close to the musth bull to help her. She tried and tried but could not stand. She was left lying down, bleeding and writhing alone in agony. Vets determined that her backbone had become dislocated. These injuries were very serious, and Medo fought for her life for 3 full years. For the next 15 years Medo spent her life in isolated and tedious toil. The owners, shamed of her condition, kept her hidden. No camps would accept an elephant so marred by a lifetime of abuse. Medo spent the days before her rescue at Mae Sariang region, dragging the small logs that she could, in an isolated village in the mountains. Physically getting Medo from the remote village to Elephant Nature Park was not easy, but she finally arrived in June 2006. On arrival, Medo saw other elephants again for the first time in 15 years.
3. Thai Koon, who was born around 1996 was rescued from illegal logging in the Tak Province near the border of Myanmar. She brought to Elephant Nature Park in May 2014. Her left, front foot was injured by stepping on a landmine when she was quite young. Her right front leg has to bear most of her weight so it has grown deformed. Though she is quite able and determined, walking is difficult for her. Derrick had created a elbow brace (never done before) for Thai Koon's right shoulder deformity. However, we had to go back to the drawing board with Thai Koon's elbow brace.... Because animals are very hard to make a elbow brace for, due to their anatomy, we wanted to provide her with the most comfortable, stabilizing, functioning option. After discussing with Derrick Campana of Bionic Pets and Dr. Tom of ENP, we decided to provide Thai Koon with a "foot or bootie" for her landmine injury. Our hope is that this will provide her more comfort and stability on her left side; allowing her to bare more weight on this foot & leg, therefore protecting the right elbow from further deformation. All three elephants, Kabu, Medo, & Thai Koon, have been living a life of compassion, dignity and freedom at Elephant Nature Park since arriving. However, their physical conditions are getting worse over time. Medo's back legs are crushing under the weight of her body and both Kabu & Thai Koon still suffers from great pain from their deformed ankle, deformed shoulder/injured foot.
Please help us make this dream a reality for these three lovely ladies!
*elephant background information courtesy ENP
EMERGENCY ENP FLOOD RELIEF FUND
Our friends and gentle ones at Elephant Nature Park are in urgent need. Flooding worst seen in 80 years. ENP has suffered a catastrophic impact, and the devastation is truly shocking .