
These heartwarming pictures show how an elephant who lost his leg to a poacher's snare trap has embraced his new life with a prosthetic limb.

Chhouk the elephant was found close to death in a Cambodian forest when he was less than two years old, severely malnourished and nursing his infected wound.

He was rescued by a wildlife worker and taken to live in an outdoor enclosure where he was fitted with a prosthetic leg by Cambodian medics.

A decade later, Chhouk's rescuers say the prosthesis is so comfortable that the elephant becomes angry if he cannot wear it.

Chhouk the elephant walks with his prosthetic left leg, which was fitted by medics in Cambodia after he lost the limb to a poacher's snare trap and was left severely malnourished in a forest

Chhouk having an X-ray in which his missing limb is visible after he lost it to a snare trap, the constriction cutting off the blood sufficiently to kill the flesh below

Chhouk being fitted with his prosthetic leg which was supplied by the Cambodian School of Prosthetics and Orthotics

Chhouk taking a dip in the pool as another elephant stands by the side of the water. Carers say that the rescued elephant spends his day with another elephant called Lucky in his large outdoor enclosure

Nick Marx of Wildlife Alliance Rescue and Care, who initially cared for Chhouk in the forest after finding him a decade ago, said the elephant had seemed 'sure to die' when he found him.

'He was in a bad way and seemed sure to die. He was badly injured and so very thin. It seemed only his fighting spirit was keeping him upright,' he said.

'The WWF team had captured Chhouk, meaning Lotus, named after their patrol station and had tethered him around the neck to a tree - a sensible decision to stop him wandering off.'

The elephant was sedated, treated and his injured leg bandaged before being transported to Phnom Tamao through a treacherous track out of the forest.

'I was extremely worried for the track was rocky and undulating. If Chhouk fell he could injure himself further,' Nick said.

2007: Chhouk is tethered to a tree for his own protection after he was found in the Cambodian forest when he was less than two years old, severely malnourished and nursing an infected wound

2007: A rescuer with a younger Chhouk in the Cambodian forest where he was found after losing his leg to a poacher

Chhouk's injury after he was trapped by a poacher's snare. After he was rescued, the skin on his stump healed

Chhouk was eventually lifted into one of the stalls in the elephant house of Wildlife Alliance Rescue and Care, having lost the bottom part of his leg to a poacher's snare trap.

'We sedated him each week, his wound was cleaned, small fragments of bone and damaged tissue were removed and the leg was re-bandage,' said Nick.

'The healing powers of wild animals can be amazing and each week when we undressed the leg we could almost see the skin re-growing down the leg and around the under-side of the remaining stump until it was completely healed, with the skin finally covering the entire area once again.'

Chhouk has since been given prosthetics by the Cambodian School of Prosthetics and Orthotics (CSPO) to help him walk.

His rescuers now say the elephant is so used to the prosthesis that he becomes 'uncomfortable' if he is prevented from wearing it.

'He gets angry if he cannot wear it. If he gets a sore on his stump, which happens now and again due to friction or dirt getting inside the shoe, and he cannot wear the prosthesis he gets irritable,' said Nick.

Chhouk walking with his prosthetic leg at his outdoor enclosure in Cambodia. Rescuers say he is fed a regular diet of leaves, branches, cane tips, bananas, grass, or coconuts

The prosthetics which animal rescuers have fitted to Chhouk's leg. Every evening his damaged leg is inspected again, the shoe changed and he is inside for the night for his own safety

Rescuers work on fitting Chhouk's prosthetics which he is now so used to wearing that he becomes angry without them

The prosthetics now have a new design which is 'lighter, stronger, and quicker for our staff to change, said the charity worker.

'The new shoe quickly got Chhouk's approval and he was running around his enclosure within minutes of trying on the new shoe,' he said.

Chhouk lives in an outdoor enclosure and is let out of his stall each morning and throughout the day, while his two caretakers look after his daily needs and take care of his foot.

In addition, he is fed a regular diet of leaves, branches, cane tips, bananas, grass, or coconuts.

'He is the first elephant in Cambodia to receive a prosthesis and is celebrated as a successful rescue story,' Nick said.

'Our elephant keepers have trained Chhouk using only reward based positive reinforcement in order to effectively change his prosthetic leg.

'He will not be fed until his shoe has been changed as we need him to be a little hungry for him to do as we require.'

'He spends his day with Lucky (another elephant) in his large outside enclosure. In the evening his damaged leg is inspected again, the shoe changed and he is inside for the night for his own safety.'

Chhouk is let out of his night stall each morning and throughout the day, while his two caretakers look after his daily needs and take care of his foot (they are pictured fitting his prosthetics)

Rescuers say that Chhouk (pictured) is 'celebrated as a successful rescue story' after becoming the first elephant in Cambodia to be successfully fitted with a prosthesis