Bangkok, Thailand ? A Thai elephant that attracted worldwide attention when its foot was amputated after it stepped on a land mine has been fitted with a temporary prosthesis, a wildlife conservation worker said Sunday.

The 44-year-old female elephant, Motola, is expected to wear the lightweight, canvas shoe-like device for five to eight months until her leg is strong enough to carry a heavier, permanent one, said Soraida Salwala, founder of the Friends of the Asian Elephant hospital in northern Thailand.

Motola was injured in 1999 while working at a logging camp near the border with neighboring Myanmar, a region peppered with land mines after a half-century of insurgency. Her mangled, left front foot was subsequently amputated, and she has hobbled on three feet since.

Veterinarians have been attaching the sawdust-filled prosthesis to Motola daily since Aug. 10 as a therapeutic measure to help prepare her for a permanent prosthesis made from fiberglass and silicone, she said.

In the meantime, the current prosthesis may be replaced by a heavier one, perhaps filled with sand, to further exercise and strengthen the elephant’s leg muscles and tendons before veterinarians attempt to attach the permanent one, she added.