Elephant takes baby steps with artificial leg

LAMPANG, Thailand: Motola, an elephant who lost a foot and part of her leg when she stepped on a land mine 10 years ago, happily if tentatively stepped out on Sunday after being fitted with an artificial limb.

In her first stroll with the permanent prosthesis, the 48-year-old female walked out of her enclosure for about 10 minutes, grabbed some dust with her trunk and jubilantly sprayed it in the air.

"It has gone very well - she has walked around twice," said Soraida Salwala, secretary general of the Friends of the Asian Elephant, a private group. "She has not put her whole weight on it yet but she's OK."