(Reuters) – A three-month-old giraffe at the San Diego Zoo has received a leg brace to correct limb abnormalities.
The female calf, named Msituni, was fitted with a custom orthotic brace on her front leg to correct a hyperextension of the carpi – bones that are equivalent to those in the human wrist – that made it difficult for her to stand and walk.
The zoo worked with San Diego company Hanger Clinic, which usually makes orthotics and prosthetics for humans, to make a custom brace for Msituni.
“The hyperextension, the joint going the wrong way, was the big concern with her,” said Matt Kinney, senior veterinarian at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.
“So initially we stabilized that joint with casts while we had some time to purchase some braces, just off-the-shelf braces. Applied those the next day and realized those weren’t quite strong enough and needed to take it a step up.”
The custom brace is made of molded carbon graphite decorated with a giraffe pattern to allow Msituni to blend in to her surroundings.
The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance said in a statement that Msituni’s chances of survival would have been very low without the treatment.
(Reporting by Jane Ross; Writing by Mark Porter; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)
