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Baby giraffe gets custom leg braces

Giraffe Braces
Posted at 11:51 AM, May 13, 2022
and last updated 2022-05-13 18:22:15-04

A baby giraffe was born at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park with an unusual disorder that caused her front limbs to bend the wrong way.

The baby giraffe was born with abnormal limb hyperextension, which made her front legs bend more like arms.

But as of this week, she can run along like the other giraffes after safari park staff reached out to experts in orthotics at the Hanger Clinic.

Ara Mirzaian was part of a team that helped design braces for the giraffe that corrected the problem.

The case is the latest example of zoos turning to medical experts who treat humans to aid ailing animals.

Mirzaian hopes to hang up a picture of the baby giraffe in her patterned brace so the kids he treats will be inspired to wear theirs.

The team previously created a custom prosthetic tail for a dolphin born with no tail in 2006.