• Contact
  • Donate
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Elephant Aid International

One World...One Elephant at a Time

  • About
    • Our Work
    • Founder, President & CEO
    • Board & Councils
    • Integrative Health Team
    • Elephant Care
      • Compassionate Elephant Care
      • Positive Reinforcement Target Training (PRTT)
      • Caregiver Philosophy
      • Elephant Health Research
    • Work With Us
  • Projects
    • US – Elephant Refuge North America (ERNA)
      • ERNA’s Elephants
      • Sponsor an Elephant
      • EleCam
    • Asia – Helping Elephants
      • Chain Free Means Pain Free
      • Elephant Foot Care
      • Elephant Care Centers
      • Mahout Education / CEC Elephant Training Program
      • Supporting Mahouts & Their Elephants
  • News
    • EleDiaries
    • EAI in the News
    • E-News
    • Blog
  • You Can Help
    • Ele Ambassadorship
    • Ways to Give
    • Campaigns
      • No Stinky Sand
      • EleCam Expansion Campaign
      • Habitat Care Stations
      • Power Trackbarrow
      • Sponsor a Mahout to Help an Elephant!
    • Wish List
    • Sponsor an Elephant
    • Feed an Elephant
    • Gift Shop
    • Honor Gifts
    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Events & Fundraisers
  • Learning Center
    • EleCam
    • Elephant Facts
  • ERNA Elephants
    • Meet Bo
    • Meet Tarra
    • Sponsor an Elephant
  • EleCam

ELEPHANT AID INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS

Elephant Foot Care

Elephant welfare | Elephants in Asia | Foot care | Mahouts
1 Jan, 1970
Carol Buckley shows mahouts how to trim elephant feet

DONATE

What

Providing pedicures for captive-held elephants, instruction for mahouts and internships for students and veterinarians in proper foot care to support overall health and prevent infection, lameness and osteomyelitis (bone disease).

Captivity can cause foot problems

private owner Nepal

Foot health is a serious issue for elephants living in captivity. This is what healthy pads and nails look like:

Healthy nails
Healthy nails
Healthy pad and nails
Healthy front pad & nails

Healthy pad
Healthy rear pad
Healthy rear pads

Inactivity, poor husbandry practices and too much time spent standing and walking on unnaturally hard surfaces such as pavement, hard packed dirt and concrete can cause thin, uneven and bruised foot pads and cracked nails, leading to infection and osteomyelitis. These diseases have become epidemic among elephants living in captive environments.

Overgrown pad
Overgrown pad
foot with osteomyilitis
Foot with fungus growth
elephant foot
Severely overgrown nails and rear pad

elephant foot
Ovegrown, infected front pad
elephant foot
Overgrown pads and nails
elephant foot
Dry and overgrown pad

Osteomyelitis  is a bacterial infection that causes the toe bones to disintegrate, leading to the elephant’s physical collapse and subsequent death.

elephant foot osteomyelitis
Feet with osteomyelitis
osteomyelitis
Foot with osteomyelitis

Aside from surgery to remove the infected toe bone, osteomyelitis is irreversible and terminal, causing years of pain and suffering.

Needed: Regular care

Proper foot care for captive-held elephants starts with giving them self directed access to appropriate non-contaminated substrate, such as grass, natural soils and varied vegetation, which cause natural wearing and condition feet, cuticles and nails as they go about their normal foraging and migratory activities.

Even in some of the best captive situations, however, elephants fail to walk the tens of miles they would walk daily in the wild. As a result, their foot pads and nails become overgrown and must be trimmed by a professional versed in elephant foot care, to make up for the lack of wear.

Trimmed nails
Trimmed nails
Trimmed nails
Trimmed nails

Ideally, foot pads and nails should be trimmed monthly to remove necrotic tissue that can harbor bacteria. Overgrowth of the nails should be removed to prevent the nail from cracking, splitting and becoming infected.

Cracked front nail
Cracked front nail
Cracked front nails
Cracked front nails

Cracked nails
Split nails
Cracked nail
Split nail

In most cases, captive-held elephants, especially those held in chains, develop unnatural movement patterns known as stereotypical behaviors, which is a coping mechanism they use when they are stressed. In additional to the psychological damage caused by stereotypical behavior, the elephant’s pads and nails wear unevenly, causing irreversible damage to the nail bed, resulting in lameness.

foot trimming tools

Foot trimming tools

The standard tools used for foot care include a large knife to remove pad and trim nails, a small blade to trim out infected areas and a rasp to finish the nails.

Personalized training
Carol trimming feet on ramp @ ENP

Foot care is usually administered while the elephant lies on the ground or stands with the foot propped on a fence, wall or other raised surface.

Foot care can include:

  • documentation and evaluation of the condition and cleanliness of the elephant’s stable: construction, drainage, substrate, shade, waste removal, sanitation and the location and condition of leg chains and hobbles
  • photographic documentation of all four feet
  • visual examination and evaluation of elephant foot health
  • complete pad, nail and cuticle trimming
  • individualized tutoring for mahouts on their elephants’ specific needs
  • follow-up re-examinations for elephants experiencing serious foot health issues
  • reports for owners, including evaluation, photographic documentation and recommendations for improved foot care

Internship Program

EAI established an internship program to instruct veterinarians and students in elephant care and conservation disciplines, foot trimming skills and knowledge of elephant foot health. The internship program will help expand foot care knowledge and continue to spread understanding of how critical foot health is to the welfare of captive elephants.

Remote Foot Trimming

Working with skilled interns, EAI is able to provide guidance remotely when emergency foot care is needed in our physical absence. EAI’s internship program in Asia prepares the students to develop foot trimming skills, but years of practice and expertise is required to understand how to address serious and painful foot problems. Using smartphones, a wifi connection and a live video app, EAI experts can assess the problem and provide step by step instructions.

Remote foot trimming instruction and training ensures sustainability for our programs.


Where

Thailand

Nepal

India


Goals

  • Establish ongoing foot care programs, especially in Asian countries, for properly maintained nails and foot pads, vital to elephants’ overall health.
  • Instruct mahouts in foot trimming skills, provide tools and positive reinforcement to drive sustainable change in foot care for captive elephants.
  • Develop internship programs for veterinarians and students pursuing careers in elephant care and conservation to build a network of skilled and informed individuals who will continue to expand foot care programs.

Results

Thailand

eai-foot-trim-2-2012_medElephant Nature Park: 29 elephants and their mahouts participated in the program. Because the mahouts were unable to maneuver their elephants into a reclining position, the elephants were conditioned to place their leg on a horizontal bar or walk up a concrete ramp to a loading dock and extend their toes over the edge for trimming. Special attention was given to a number of elephants with severely overgrown and infected nails and pads.

 

 

baby-with-damaged-feet-thailand2Elephant’s World: These elephants also were not trained to lie down, so a loading dock approach was employed. Six of the seven elephants and their mahouts participated in the program. Another young elephant, who had been confiscated by the Thai government for street begging in Chiang Mai, was brought to the facility with damaged foot pads. As a result of walking on hot asphalt streets, her foot pads blistered and sloughed off, leaving her to walk on raw flesh. We treated her and instructed the mahouts on proper care. We also petitioned the government not to return her to her owners but our petition was denied and, one month after arriving, the baby was returned to her owners and a life on the streets.

Ele foot trim on loading rampBoon Lott’s Elephant Sanctuary: Several resident elephants and their mahouts participated. The program was designed to give the mahouts the skills to maintain their elephants’ feet and to teach other mahouts the skill. Several rescued elephants arrived at the sanctuary with leg and foot deformities, making their care especially problematic. The elephants were much more comfortable having their mahout give direction from on top, as opposed to standing at their side. With time and patience, each elephant was encouraged to walk up the concrete ramp and stand on the level area 4 feet above the ground. Once they became comfortable they extended their toes over the edge to allow their nails and pads to be trimmed for the first time in their lives.

SONY DSCWildlife Friends Foundation Thailand: Our work was focused on a recently rescued older elephant with numerous open wounds all over her body and severely overgrown nails. This elephant was in very poor body condition. She could not lie down nor walk up a ramp, so her nails had to be trimmed with her standing on the ground. Luckily for the technician and mahouts she was calm, cooperative and non-aggressive. Four inches of overgrown necrotic nail was removed from each of her four feet. Decayed infected tissue was removed from her pads. She was very patient as the technician and mahouts slowly cut away at her dry brittle nails and necrotic pads for over an hour. Her mahouts learned quickly.

elephant foot care workshop ThailandElephant Conservation Center: The government-run Elephant Conservation Center in Lampang, Thailand, hosted its first EAI Foot Trimming Workshop in March 2018. Tens of veterinarians, elephant owners, mahouts and conservationists attended. This was the first facility where EAI was able to demonstrate foot trimming with elephants not trained to lie on their side. The newly erected training wall designed for the purpose of protected contact training and foot care was utilized. Workshop participants received a course in “Elephant Feet,” an academic precursor to the hands on instruction of foot care. Participants learned first hand how to evaluate foot health and the steps required to keep nails and pads properly trimmed.

 India

wildlife-sos-india-2012-3Wildlife SOS: A mature male just out of musth (season of heightened testosterone levels) was the focus of our work. The skilled veterinarians and attentive mahouts at Wildlife SOS enabled us to trim the bull’s severely overgrown necrotic pads and deeply cracked nails. The bull was cooperative and calm. Once he was in the reclined position, he allowed the staff to approach and palpate and manipulate his feet; debride necrotic tissue; flush out infected tracks; and trim overgrown nails and pads. The staff was hungry for information regarding foot health and trimming. The staff gained the experience required to continue to maintain this elephant’s nails and pads into the future.

Nepal

Experience daily activities of our 2019 Nepal foot trimming workshops. Watch EAI’s Virtual Field Trip to Nepal video collection.

Sauraha: EAI conducts a biannual foot care program for nearly 200 private and government-owned elephants in the Chitwan National Park region of Nepal. With a team of interns consisting of veterinarians, vet techs, mahouts, elephant keepers, elephant owners and sanctuary owners, EAI provides foot trimming workshops. Elephants of all ages, both genders and a wide range of foot maladies receive pedicures. Not only do the elephants benefit from this much needed foot care, interns from around the world and mahouts from Nepal develop a valuable skill.

 

Carol & workshop participants Tiger Tops Elephant Camp, Chitwan National Park: Tiger Tops hosted its first annual EAI foot care workshops in September 2016. The two sold-out five-day workshops drew veterinarians, vet techs, elephant caregivers, owners and managers from around the world. EAI CEO Carol Buckley gave participants a general overview of elephant health and foot care, and then individual hands-on instruction in foot health evaluation and corrective pedicures.

 

 

Foot trimming in BardiaBardia: Tens of government and privately owned elephants live in chains in proximity to Bardia National Park in Nepal. The park is located at the far west side of the country; its exceptionally hot and dry climate is problematic for elephants, especially for their feet. Nails become hard and brittle, making it difficult for the elephants to wear them down naturally. Pads dry out, become unnaturally hard and form dangerously deep cracks. The technician team, organized by Dr. Gairhe, senior veterinarian of Nepal’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation in collaboration with EAI, spent hours carving away overgrown nails and pads. The team also instructed the mahouts how to keep nails, cuticles and pads supple and healthy.

Reports

07/11/19 - Nepal - Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) March 2011 - January 2019 - Click Here to Download
04/11/15 - Nepal - National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC) and Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) March 2011- April 2015 - Click Here to Download
05/01/11 - Thailand - Elephant Nature Park - Click Here to Download
05/01/11 - Thailand - Boon Lott's Elephant Sanctuary - Click Here to Download
04/12/11 - Nepal - National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC), Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) and private owners - Click Here to Download
03/01/11 - Thailand - Elephant's World - Click Here to Download
05/15/10 - Nepal - Sauraha Elephant Foot Care Workshop - Click Here to Download

See Also

  • Foot Trimming in Bardia, Nepal
  • Forest Dwellers
  • Kasara Camp
  • Nepal Mobile Pedicure Parlor
  • Breeding Center
  • a special day for BLES visitors
  • Mee Chok and Pang Suai
  • the ENP pachyderm pedicure clinic is open
  • Foot Care
DONATE

About

  • Our Work
  • Founder, President & CEO
  • Board & Councils
  • Integrative Health Team
  • Work With Us

Privacy Policy

Projects

  • US – Elephant Refuge North America (ERNA)
  • Chain Free Means Pain Free
  • Elephant Foot Care
  • Mahout Education / CEC Elephant Training Program
  • Supporting Mahouts & Their Elephants

News

  • EleDiaries
  • EAI in the News
  • E-News
  • Blog

Elephant Care

  • Compassionate Elephant Care
  • Positive Reinforcement Target Training (PRTT)
  • Caregiver Philosophy
  • Elephant Health Research

Contact

  • Contact
  • Media Inquiries
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
GuideStar Seal

Support

  • Ways to Give
  • Campaigns
  • Wish List
  • Sponsor an Elephant
  • Gift Shop
  • Honor Gifts
  • Volunteer Opportunities
  • Events & Fundraisers

Elephant Cam
Elephant Facts
Learning Center

© 2023 · ELEPHANT AID INTERNATIONAL · EIN 27-2243265 · Site by Vegan Web Design