Giraffe calf in US gets leg braces to help her walk

Posted by Anita Froneman on 17 May 2022

Msituni, a three-month-old giraffe calf was born with a hyperextended front leg, which meant that she could not walk normally. In overcompensating for this leg, the other front leg began to hyperextend too, causing her much discomfort.

Soon, the team at the San Diego Safari Park in the United States consulted experts on the matter and decided the best option was to get her leg braces. Ara Mirzaian, an orthotics expert at the Hanger clinic was to spearhead the venture.

The clinic has helped several people get a new lease on life, but this would be their first animal patient. ‘It was pretty surreal when I first heard about it,’ Mirzaian told The Guardian. ‘Of course, all I did was go online and study giraffes for like 24/7 until we got out here.’

Matt Kinney, a senior veterinarian for the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance added: ‘We commonly put on casts and bandages and stuff. But something that extensive, like this brace that she was provided, that’s something we really had to turn to our human colleagues for.’

From her birth, Msituni was in braces for a total of 39 days, after which the treatment proved successful and she was reintroduced to her herd in the park. She can now walk and run freely, and is expected to live a healthy life.

Take a look at her story:

Picture: Screenshot

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