A baby giraffe born with leg abnormalities is now walking like air, thanks to a team of doctors at the San Diego Zoo who fitted the animal with leg braces, allowing her to move freely for the first time.
Three-month-old Msituni – a name that means “in the forest” in Swahili – was born at the zoo’s safari park on February 1, with a genetic disorder that affected the young animal’s front legs.
The condition, known as carpal hypertension, caused the giraffe’s front legs to bend incorrectly, making it nearly impossible for it to stand and walk due to the pressure put on its joints and bones.
As a result, Safari Park staff became concerned that the newborn calf could die if they didn’t correct the condition immediately, preventing the animal from nursing and roaming around the habitat.
Msituni was 1.60 meters tall at birth and growing rapidly – giving the concerned workers a sense of urgency.
Three-month-old Msituni, who was born with leg abnormalities that made it impossible for her to walk or even stand up, is now able to walk in the air thanks to a team of doctors at the San Diego Zoo who fitted the animal with leg braces to let her walk move freely for the first time.
The brace, manufactured by Mirzaian’s Hanger Clinic, is made from specially molded carbon-graphite braces and uses cast moldings of the fibula to fit the animal comfortably
The finished product has proved a success, the zoo says, and Msituni can now walk with ease
Msituni’s dire situation soon prompted zoo officials to bring in a team of experts to treat the giraffe — including clinician Ara Mirzaian, an orthotist who has fitted braces for Paralympic participants and children with scoliosis.
However, the doctor, who works exclusively on humans, had never fitted an animal for such a device, let alone a newborn giraffe.
This task proved sufficiently challenging for Mirzaian, who has been providing braces to patients for 30 years.
“It was pretty surreal when I first heard about it,” Mirzaian told the Associated Press last week, where folks from the outlet were able to meet a fully braced Msituni strutting alongside the other giraffes with renewed vigor.
The brace, which is made by Mirzaian’s Hanger Clinic, is made from specially molded carbon-graphite braces and uses cast moldings of the fibula to fit the animal comfortably, Mirzaian said.
The finished product has proved a hit, the zoo says, as Msituni is able to walk with the rest of her herd in the safari park’s 60-acre East African savannah.
It has brought much-needed relief to the animal, who weighed more than 100 pounds at birth.
“I have a tremendous sense of accomplishment,” said Mirzaian, a board-certified prosthetist. “I’ve never worked with wildlife before – this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and you just have to enjoy the moment.”
BEFORE: Msituni, who was 1.6m tall when she was born, suffers from carpal hypertension, which causes the giraffe’s front legs to not bend properly, making it nearly impossible for her to stand and walk
Safari Park’s veterinarian, Dr. Matt Kinney, this week shared a similar sentiment, saying the custom creation has given the animal a new life.
“We are so glad we have the resources and expertise to step in and give this young calf the chance for a fulfilling life,” said Kinney.
“Without these life-saving supports, the position of her legs would have become increasingly painful and would have evolved to a point she could not have overcome.”
The doctor added: “We usually put on casts and bandages and stuff. But with something as substantial as this corset that was provided to her, we really had to reach out to our human [medicine] colleagues for.’
This proved particularly challenging as she was a 5ft 10in newborn and was getting taller by the day.
Msituni’s dire situation prompted zoo officials to bring in a team of experts to treat the giraffe — including clinician Ara Mirzaian (pictured), an orthotist who has fitted braces for Paralympic participants and children with scoliosis
Additionally, for Msituni’s braces to prove effective, the devices had to have a wide range of motion and be durable and long-lasting. Hanger worked with a company that makes braces for horses for three months to develop the device.
“Of course I just went online and studied giraffes 24/7 until we got out of here,” Mirzaian added.
According to safari park staff, Msituni is doing well now and appears to be accepting her new walking aids.
“This was an important step in Msituni’s natural evolution,” said Kristi Burtis, director of wildlife care at San Diego Zoo Safari Park. “As her bond with the herd grows, she will be able to learn behaviors and skills important to a young giraffe’s development.”
The situation harks back to the publicized plight of another disabled animal, Winter the Dolphin, who was fitted with a prosthetic tail in 2006 by workers at Florida’s Clearwater Marine Aquarium after she lost hers in a crab trap.
The story was made famous by the 2011 film Dolphin Tale.
Mirzaian’s creation, which had to have a wide range of motion and be strong and durable to prove effective, allows the three-month-old animal to walk and stand without damaging her joints
The custom prosthesis, which took three months to produce, has given the animal a second chance at life, staff say
The prosthesis also gave the animal a second chance at life, with Winter living 16 years until his passing last November.
And with scientists estimating there are fewer than 100,000 giraffes in the wild, San Diego Zoo staff are thrilled with Msituni’s new shoes.
“The birth of any animal is a cherished event, and Msituni’s survival in the face of so much adversity makes it all the more remarkable,” said veterinarian Kinney.
Mirzaian, meanwhile, says he plans to put up a picture of the giraffe wearing the brace in his office so that children he treats in the future don’t feel uncomfortable about being fitted for similar devices.
“It was the coolest thing to see an animal like that walking in braces,” he said. “It feels good to know that we saved a giraffe’s life.”
“It was the coolest thing to see an animal like this walking in braces,” Mirzaian said. “It feels good to know that we saved a giraffe’s life.”