Chouk the Elephant 大象舒克

景一

It was 2007 when Nick Marx from the Wildlife Alliance1 got the call. An injured elephant needed help. While the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre in Cambodia had been caring for injured and orphaned2 wildlife for many years， an elephant rescue didnt happen very often. It would not be an easy task.

Nick headed out to the forests of the Mondulkiri Province with no idea that the animal he was about to rescue would change his life forever. Luckily， he found the injured elephant quickly. It was a young male， only about five hundred pounds. One of his front feet was badly injured.

Although Nick couldnt be sure， the elephant had probably fallen victim3 to a snare4 trap5 that was left in the forests to catch various types of animals. The snare probably wrapped around the elephants foot tighter and tighter as he tried to escape. It got so tight that it nearly removed the entire foot.

The little elephant was scared and in pain. Nick used a tranquilizer6 dart7 to make the elephant go to sleep. That way the team could move him into a transport vehicle and take him back to the rescue center for treatment.

Once Nick was able to properly evaluate8 the elephant， he feared for his survival9. His foot was so severely infected10 that it had to be amputated11. The elephant was malnourished12， too.

Nick named the elephant Chouk， which means “lotus13 flower” in Cambodian. Over the next several weeks， Nick stayed with Chouk nearly every night. He made sure that he had food and was comfortable， and he changed his bandages14 several times a day to help clear the infection. As the weeks progressed， Chouks wound healed and he began to gain weight. He was a friendly and playful elephant， but he struggled to walk with his missing foot.

Chouk would not have a good quality of life with only three limbs15. The more time he spent walking on three legs， the more his body would compensate16 for this change. Soon his body would start changing permanently17 to make up for the disability. Nick could already see changes in the growing elephant.

But what could the Wildlife Alliance do？

Nick had an idea. Maybe he could make a prosthetic18 limb that would replace Chouks missing foot. He searched to see if anything like this had been done before， but no one had ever created a prosthetic for an elephant. Nick researched several organizations that made and designed prosthetics for humans and was lucky to find one not far away， the Cambodian School of Prosthetics and Orthotics19.

Nick contacted the school， and soon after， some of the staff came to the Centre to meet Chouk. The students and professors from the school examined Chouks injured limb， took measurements， and made a plaster20 cast21 of Chouks leg. After talking with Nick， they were confident that they could design a new foot for Chouk that would allow him to once again walk on all four of his legs.

Designing and making the prosthetic was going to be very costly， and the rescue center already spent all of its resources on food and the care of the animals. Nick needed help and support from someone to pay for Chouks treatment and training. He contacted the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund in hopes that they could support it to save Chouk.

Asian elephants are the only living species of elephant in Southeast Asia. They are endangered and it is believed that their population has declined by at least half in the past 100 years due to habitat22 loss and hunting. Asian elephants are an important part of the ecosystem in Cambodia， but have also been used in farming and transportation for centuries. The SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund agreed to support this important project， and soon after， the Wildlife Alliance had the funds to create Chouks new foot.

The school used the cast of Chouks leg to create a specially fitted prosthetic. They also created a special cloth sock that would go over Chouks limb to prevent him from getting any sores23. The prosthetic would need to be cleaned frequently， so they designed Velcro24 straps25 that made it easy for the animal care team at the rescue center to remove the prosthetic whenever they needed.

The final problem the designers had to overcome was how to protect the bottom of the prosthetic from the heavy weight and constant walking of the elephant. They needed something that could be easily replaced as the elephant wore it down. After a few tests， they settled on attaching a piece of a car tire to the bottom of the prosthetic. As Chouk used his new limb， they could replace the tire treads as frequently as needed.

Another challenge Nick faced was training Chouk so they could put the prosthetic on him in a safe way. Nick reached out to his friends at Busch Gardens in Tampa to learn how they trained their elephants using positive reinforcement26. Nick visited the park and learned the principles27 behind animal training. He took those lessons back to Cambodia to help train Chouk.

Finally， the day came for Chouk to try out his new foot. The staff from the school put the special sock over his limb and attached28 the prosthetic to his leg.

Within minutes Chouk was walking around just as if he had all four feet. Over the next few days， Nick noticed that Chouk had started to walk more and more like other elephants and that the prosthetic didnt seem to bother him. Nick started taking Chouk for long walks out into the woods and watched as he swam and played with the other elephants at the rescue center.

Over the course of the next several years， Chouk grew rapidly. Adult Asian elephants can be as tall as nine feet and weigh well over eight thousand pounds. Every few months， a new prosthetic was created to keep up with how fast Chouk was growing. Chouk has now outgrown more than a dozen prosthetic limbs！

If you visit the Phnom Tamao Wildlife and Rescue Centre， youll most likely catch a glimpse of Chouk， the elephant with a prosthetic leg.

2007年的時候，野生动物联盟的尼克·马克思接到了电话。一头受伤的大象需要帮助。虽然柬埔寨金边野生动物救助中心多年来一直在照顾受伤的野生动物和野生动物孤儿，但大象救援并不时常有。这不是一项容易的任务。

尼克前往蒙多基里省的森林，并不知道他将要救助的那头动物将永远改变他的生活。幸运的是，他很快找到了受伤的大象。那是一头年幼的雄象，只有500磅（约227千克）左右。它的一只前脚受了重伤。

尽管尼克不能确定，但大象很可能是留在丛林里捕捉各种动物的陷阱的牺牲品。当大象试图逃跑时，圈套可能会越来越紧地缠在它的脚上。它太紧了，几乎勒断了这头象的整只脚。

这头小象既害怕又痛苦。尼克用麻醉飞镖使它入睡，这样小组就可以把它转移到运输车上，然后把它带回救援中心治疗。

尼克能正确评估大象的情况后，就担心它能否继续活下去。它的脚受了严重的感染，不得不截肢。而且它还营养不良。

尼克给大象取名为舒克（Chouk），在柬埔寨语里是“莲花”的意思。在接下来的几周里，尼克几乎每晚都和舒克在一起。他确保了它有吃的，而且舒适，并且每天给它换几次绷带来帮助清除感染。随着时间的推移，舒克的伤口愈合，体重开始增加。它是一只友好而顽皮的大象，但它却挣扎着用残肢走路。

只有三只脚，舒克的生活质量不会高。它用三条腿走路的时间越多，它的身体就越能弥补这种变化。很快它的身体就会开始永久性地改变以弥补伤残。尼克已经可以看到大象在成长中的变化。

但是野生动物联盟能做什么呢？

尼克有了个主意。也许他可以做一个假肢来代替舒克的脚。他想看看以前是否有人做过这样的事，但从来没有人为大象做过假肢。尼克研究了几个为人类制造和设计假肢的组织，幸运的是，他在离他不远的地方找到了柬埔寨假肢和矫形学院。

尼克联系了学校，不久之后，一些工作人员来野生动物救助中心见了舒克。学校的学生和教授们检查了舒克受伤的肢体，进行了测量，并做了舒克腿部的石膏模型。在与尼克交谈后，他们有信心为舒克设计一只新的脚，让它可以再次用四条腿走路。

假肢的设计和制造将是非常昂贵的，救助中心已经把所有的资源都花在了食物和动物护理上。尼克需要帮助和支持来支付舒克的治疗和训练的费用。他联系了海洋世界和布希公园保护基金会，希望得到他们的支持，以拯救舒克。

亚洲象是东南亚唯一生存的象种。它们濒临灭绝，据信，由于栖息地丧失和被猎杀，它们的种群在过去的100年里至少减少了一半。亚洲象是柬埔寨生态系统的重要组成部分，但几百年来也被用于农业和交通运输。海洋世界和布希公园保护基金会同意支持这个重要的项目，不久之后，野生动物联盟就有了资金来制作舒克的新脚。

学校利用舒克的腿部石膏模型制作了一个特殊的假肢。他们还发明了一种特殊的布袜子，可以套在舒克的四肢上，防止它长出任何疮来。假肢需要经常清洗，所以他们设计了尼龙搭扣带，使得救援中心的动物护理小组在需要的时候可以很容易地取下假肢。

设计者们必须攻克的最后一个问题是，如何保护假肢的底部不受大象的巨大重量和不断行走的影响。他们需要在大象磨损了它的时候很容易进行更换的东西。经过几次测试，他们决定在假肢的底部安装裁剪的一片汽车轮胎。当舒克使用它的新肢体时，人们可以根据需要的频率来更换它。

尼克面临的另一个挑战是训练舒克，这样他们才可以安全地给它戴上假肢。尼克联系了在坦帕的布希公园的朋友，了解他们是如何用正强化来训练大象的。尼克参观了公园，学习了动物训练的原则。他带着这些经验回到了柬埔寨帮助训练舒克。

終于，到了舒克试用它的新脚的这一天。学校的工作人员把特制的袜子套在它的腿上，把假肢固定在它的腿上。

几分钟内，舒克就四处走动，就像它四肢健全一样。在接下来的几天里，尼克注意到舒克走路开始越来越像其他大象了，而且这个假肢似乎没有对它造成困扰。尼克开始带舒克到树林里散步，看着它在救助中心和其他大象一起游泳和玩耍。

在接下来的几年里，舒克迅速长大。成年亚洲象的身高可达9英尺（约2.7米），体重远远超过8000磅（约3629千克）。每隔几个月，就有新的假肢制作出来，以跟上舒克的成长速度。舒克现在已经长出过十几条假肢了！

如果你会参观金边野生动物救助中心，你很可能会看见装有假肢的大象舒克。

（英语原文选自：www.chickensoup.com）

【Notes】

1. alliance [■] n. 联盟 2. orphan [■] v. 使成为孤儿

3. victim [■] n. 受害人，牺牲品 4. snare [■] n. （捕鸟、兽的）陷阱

5. trap [■] n. （捕捉动物的）陷阱，捕捉器;圈套 6. tranquilizer [■] n. 镇定剂

7. dart [■] n. 飞镖 8. evaluate [■] vt. 评价

9. survival [■] n. 生存;存活 10. infect [■] vt. 感染，传染

11. amputate [■] vt. 截肢;切断

12. malnourished [■] adj. 营养不良的;营养失调的

13. lotus [■] n. 莲花;荷花 14. bandage [■] n. 绷带

15. limb [■] n. 肢，臂 16. compensate [■] vi. 补偿;抵消

17. permanently [■] adv. 永久地，长期不变地 18. prosthetic [■] adj. 假体的;义肢的

19. orthotics [■] n. 矫正术;器械矫形学 20. plaster [■] n. 石膏

21. cast [■] n. 铸件，模型 22. habitat [■] n. 栖息地，产地

23. sores [■] n. 溃疡，痛处

24. Velcro [■] n. 魔术贴，尼龙搭扣（尼龙粘扣商标名）

25. strap [■] n. 带子，皮带，金属带

26. reinforcement [■] n. 增援;援军;加强

27. principle [■] n. 原理，原则 28. attach [■] vt. 使依附;贴上;系上