This Three Legged Elephant Uses His Trunk for Support

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Animals face all sorts of dangers in the wild. Dangers from predators, the harsh environment, and trying to find sufficient food and a water supply. But, we soon forget that injuries to animals are also a danger to them. Domestic animals have the loving care of an owner who would take them to a vet upon injury. However, a wild animal has no such luxury. Don’t miss this gut-wrenching video of an elephant above.

Injured Elephant Sighting in Africa

The short YouTube video clip shown at the top of this blog post takes us to Africa, where an injured elephant is spotted. The Latest Sightings YouTube page shared this footage on their channel, and it’s received more than 25,000 views. 

As the video starts, we see an elephant walking into the camera’s view with a serious limp. He has only three legs. His back right leg is missing almost from the knee down. The knee on an elephant is an extremely vital part of properly distributing the massive weight that an elephant has. 

According to Animal Ethics, a charity dedicated to providing the public with information and resources on animals, they have the following to say about the dangers of injury to a wild animal. “Physical injuries are one of the most common threats to animals living in the wild…Even when animals aren’t killed by their injuries, they can be left with chronic pain, especially when their injuries don’t heal properly.”

Despite the pain this elephant is in, he has no choice but to press on in search of a place to live, food to eat, and water to drink. We can see from the video above that the bottom half of this elephant is completely wet. The water line goes up to his eyes, which tells us that something as simple as crossing a river bank proved to be a difficult task for this disabled elephant.

What’s Special About an Elephant Trunk?

We often talk about the power and strength that the African elephant holds. They weigh up to 13,000 pounds and can reach up to 13 feet in height. However, their trunks are really what’s amazing. A Scientific Journal published in 2022 shares that “Muscular hydrostats such as octopus arms and the elephant trunk have received much attention because of their dexterity in grabbing a wide range of objects.” As herbivores, elephants will also use their massive trunks to pick out food in high places.

In addition to that, the strong trunk of an elephant can lift up to 350 kilograms (772 pounds.) As we can see from the video above, this elephant is solely relying on his ability to use his trunk as an added support for walking to supplement a  missing limb. If it were not for his trunk able to support such weight, he would surely have died a very slow and painful death.