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PICTURE OF THE WEEK: Shoe For An Elephant

Many people across the globe wear shoes. There are even some animals who wear shoes. Horses, for example, wear shoes or boots to protect their hooves. Recently, another type of animal received a shoe at the Los Angeles Zoo in California.

The Los Angeles Zoo is home to many animals, including apes, giraffes, okapi and elephants. One of the elephants, named Gita, is recovering from an operation on her foot. After the veterinarians operated on the giant animal, they became concerned about the wound. If Gita continued to walk through dirt and brush, her foot would never heal properly. So the zoo called in a shoemaker to solve this problem.

According to the Associated Press, Lua Nova’s Orthopedic Shoes was chosen to create this gigantic shoe. Mr. Nova had to design and make an elephant shoe in two days! The resulting shoe was almost four and a half feet in circumference and more than a foot and a half wide.

Elephant feet are very round, and they're used for more than just walking. Elephants communicate with their feet, too. Scientists believe that elephants interpret vibrations from the ground through their feet and can determine the locations of other elephants and predators. Thanks to Mr. Nova’s shoe, Gita’s foot is healing nicely and she’s walking normally.

--Written by Katheryn Troyer

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