Several of our Ladies, including Sissy and Lizzie, have different degrees of trunk paralysis. This condition can be found in both Asian and African elephants, and the effect it has can range from mild weakness to complete paralysis and muscle wasting. The cause is generally unknown, but possibilities include trauma, infection, and lack of proper nutrition. You would be able to observe a "tell-tale" appearance in the trunk of most elephants with trunk paralysis. Their trunk appears much narrower than the typical thick and muscular trunk. The paralysis commonly originates at the base of the trunk and extends to different lengths toward the tip with the last ¼ being the least affected. This still allows the girls to use their trunk tip “fingers” to pick up and manipulate objects normally. Elephants with partial trunk paralysis usually learn to adapt by swinging their trunk to reach their mouth, using their feet or other objects to lift items, and leaning over to drink. Monitoring our girls to ensure that adequate nutrition and hydration needs are met is essential. Our experience has shown that our circus elephants (Ned, Lizzie and Delhi) had learned to adapt more effectively, possibly out of necessity.
Sissy, who is from a zoo, is still working on perfecting the art of drinking. (see Ele-Notes March 8, 2010) Sissy may have sustained injury to her trunk from trauma in a flood in northern Texas. In addition, her trunk became completely paralyzed after complications. However, since her arrival at The Elephant Sanctuary, she has adapted quite well and the use of her trunk has improved a good 25%. Sissy uses the swinging technique that all of our elephants seem to have preferred. When there is an "itch" at the base of her trunk, (which might seem almost impossible to reach) Sissy will swing her trunk up and pin it between the base of her trunk and either a tree or a barn stall bar. This keeps her trunk in place allowing her to walk the tip of her trunk to whatever area has an itch, and then she happily scratches. Oh, that we had a trunk to reach the unreachable.
Lizzie can easily swing her trunk up to get it inside the auto-waterers to take a drink. She is fairly accurate. In gathering hay, she scoots and scoops with the end of her trunk, then when she has the perfect amount of hay, she thumps it several times on the floor to get it just right, then swings it up to her mouth. She is pretty adept at scooping up her grain and produce along with her hay as well. She has adapted very well with her limitations and has been observed, when outside, seemingly entertaining herself by just swinging her trunk round and round like a large pendulum.
Having partial trunk paralysis has not seemed to limit any of our elephants. They still bathe themselves, hold their trunks out of the water while swimming, touch and smell their sisters, and in the case of Sissy, carry around a full sized tire.
2010-06-12
