Elephants Are Okay Too

September 8, 2016 5:37 AM

Washington’s largest pair of Tevas are on an elephant at the National Zoo (Washington Post)

Poor Shanthi has arthritis, leading to foot problems, so they got her some shoes!

Actually, they’re more like boots, custom made for Shanthi in about a size 20, with an EEEEEEEEEEEE width....Elephants are intelligent and curious, with dexterous trunks well-suited for unwrapping bandages. Boots had been used successfully at other zoos, so the National Zoo decided to give them a try.

The article contains many adorable details and a brief video of Shanthi in her new shoes.

posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl (15 comments total)

Actually, they’re more like boots, custom made for Shanthi in about a size 20, with an EEEEEEEEEEEE width...

I feel like I should squeak in with a mouse joke.
posted by leotrotsky at 5:59 AM on September 8, 2016 [2 favorites]

custom made for Shanthi in about a size 20, with an EEEEEEEEEEEE width

I was curious and went googling and I can't find anyone selling 20s, but this website will sell you a size 17, 14E which seems shockingly close to the elephant size. I wonder if they're calculating the width wrong?

Of course, I know a shoe guy in Fall River who'd put Shanti in a size 30 narrow, think everybody has narrow feet. Better support for her meta-tah-sals, he'd say.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 5:59 AM on September 8, 2016 [1 favorite]

I appreciate your taking the poor future mefite searcher into account with your tags by including all the appropriate plurals
posted by leotrotsky at 6:00 AM on September 8, 2016 [9 favorites]

(A local outfit also made some custom boots for Shanthi before the zoo settled on the Tevas. Joe Stern, of Cobbler’s Bench in Landover, Md., fabricated a pair that was hardened with the spray-on lining used for truck beds. Joe finished them off with red soles to make them resemble high-end Christian Louboutin pumps. Shanthi seems to prefer the more casual Tevas.)

I die.
posted by phunniemee at 6:04 AM on September 8, 2016 [12 favorites]

Joe Stern, of Cobbler’s Bench in Landover, Md., fabricated a pair that was hardened with the spray-on lining used for truck beds. Joe finished them off with red soles to make them resemble high-end Christian Louboutin pumps.

That was almost the quote in the post! Everything about this brings me joy. I am just so glad the elephant is feeling better.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 6:13 AM on September 8, 2016 [1 favorite]

The folks who taught me how to analyze hormones in monkey feces are some of the same people who work on elephant welfare at these zoos. This is a group of people who truly love and want the best for the elephants under their care, and if that involves giving them ugly footwear, so be it.
posted by ChuraChura at 6:33 AM on September 8, 2016 [6 favorites]

A happy elephant story for a change. Thank you.
posted by shoesietart at 7:13 AM on September 8, 2016

"elephant shoes"
posted by stevil at 7:23 AM on September 8, 2016 [2 favorites]

Baby Elephant Airwalks
posted by Rock Steady at 7:43 AM on September 8, 2016

Now she's going to need the world's largest hacky-sack.
posted by Flashman at 7:57 AM on September 8, 2016 [4 favorites]

My Tevas blew a strap after three months, hopefully Shanthi has a better SKU.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:51 AM on September 8, 2016

oh no this is so delightful
posted by poffin boffin at 9:19 AM on September 8, 2016

It's like the mirror image of Hemingway's sad story:

Not for sale: Elephant shoes, actively used.
posted by chavenet at 10:07 AM on September 8, 2016 [7 favorites]

I bet the elephant would love crocs.
posted by srboisvert at 11:51 AM on September 8, 2016 [1 favorite]

Hey, she put some new shoes on, and suddenly everything's right! (There really should be a video of Shanthi in her new shoes, synced with that "New Shoes" song.)

I saw "EEEEEEEEEEEE" in the tags before I read the More Inside -- for a sec I thought it referred to an enthusiastic squee sound. Very fitting. :)

The footwear company already had experience with interesting custom jobs. It made a pair of elephant shoes in 2004 and in 2011 created a tiny sandal for the Santa Barbara Zoo, where a Humboldt penguin named Lucky had an impaired foot.

Tiny penguin foot! I found this video about Lucky. (It looks more like a little boot than a sandal.)

Also:

“There’s not a tremendous amount of feedback that comes back from the animals,” said Chris Hillyer, director of innovation for Deckers Brands, which owns Teva.

I don't know if he said this with a perfectly serious face or not, but it made me laugh.
posted by rangefinder 1.4 at 10:10 PM on September 9, 2016