Unnatural-Gait

Walking with an abnormal stride or gait, limping. An Unnatural-Gait may be due to injury or an underlying condition, such as twisting-disease.

References: Moss 1992, Poole & Granli 2021. (Full reference list)

 

This behavior occurs in the following context(s): Maintenance

Unnatural-Gait

Context: Maintenance (1)

A young male slowly Walks past us with an unnatural gait. We can see that his left foreleg is stiff. (Amboseli, Kenya)

Unnatural-Gait

Context: Maintenance (2)

Earlier we found an elephant on his side in the Rio Urema, apparently incapacitated. He was using his trunk to Snorkel. We took photographs and shot video with the Canon and the drone. Later we found this elephant to be gm0112 with enormously swollen left front leg, an injury caused by bullet(s). We returned to check on gm0112 and found him on the other bank trying to feed. He could barely move. He had trouble Urinating and had diarrhea.

After we saw him in the river rangers had come to look for him and could not find him. Eventually they found him - not sure whether in or out at that time, but at one point they used a boat to encourage him to leave the river. His front left leg was extremely swollen and it was clear to us that he could not survive. We filmed him and recorded him - he was calling - as another wounded elephant gm0053 had also done. He Rumbled twice (only once in this clip). (Gorongosa, Mozambique)