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A baby giraffe born with a leg abnormality has been fitted with special leg braces to help her walk.
为帮助一只患有先天性腿部畸形的小长颈鹿走路，人们为她安装了特殊的腿部支架。
The giraffe is named Msituni.
这只长颈鹿名叫姆西图尼。
She was born on February 1 at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in California.
她于2月1日在加利福尼亚州的圣地亚哥野生动物园出生。
She suffers from a condition called carpal hypertension.
她患有一种名为腕高血压的疾病。
It affected the young animal's front legs, which became hyperextended.
它影响了这只小动物的前腿，使其过度伸展。
Msituni weighed more than 55 kilograms at birth.
姆西图尼出生时体重超过55公斤。
The abnormality was putting a lot of pressure on her joints and bones.
腿部畸形给她的关节和骨骼带来了很大的压力。
Zoo workers feared that she could die if they did not quickly correct the condition.
动物园工作人员担心，如果他们不快速纠正这种情况，她可能会死亡。
This is because it could prevent the giraffe from getting food and from being able to walk around.
这是因为它可能会使这只长颈鹿无法获取食物和四处走动。
Zoo officials called in experts to treat the giraffe.
动物园官员请来了专家来治疗这只长颈鹿。
The experts were from the Hanger Clinic in Escondido, California.
这些专家来自加利福尼亚州埃斯孔迪多的汉格诊所。
The medical team had a lot of experience fitting people with braces to correct leg problems.
该医疗团队在为人们安装矫正腿部问题的支架方面经验丰富。
But the clinic had never treated an animal before.
但该诊所以前从未治疗过动物。
Ara Mirzaian was a member of the medical team.
阿拉·米尔扎伊安是该医疗团队的一名成员。
He told The Associated Press that, at first, he found the situation "surreal."
他告诉美联社，一开始，他觉得这种情况“很离奇”。
Mirzaian added that he immediately went online to start learning as much as possible about giraffes.
米尔扎伊安还说，他立即上网开始尽可能多地了解长颈鹿。
It is not completely unusual for zoos to seek help from medical professionals who are used to treating people.
动物园向习惯于治疗人类的医疗专业人员寻求帮助并不是完全不寻常的事情。
Earlier this year, a zoo in Tampa, Florida partnered with experts to fit a great hornbill bird suffering from cancer with a new prosthetic beak.
今年早些时候，佛罗里达州坦帕市的一家动物园与专家合作为一只患有癌症的大犀鸟安装了新的假喙。
And in 2006, a Hanger Clinic team in Florida created a prosthetic for a dolphin that had lost its tail after getting stuck in ropes from a crab trap.
2006年，佛罗里达州的一个汉格诊所团队为一只海豚制造了假肢，这只海豚在被捕蟹器的绳子卡住后失去了尾巴。
That story was told in the 2011 movie Dolphin Tale.
2011年的电影《海豚的故事》讲述了这个故事。
For Msituni's braces to work, the devices needed to have a wide range of motion.
为了让姆西图尼的支架发挥作用，这些设备需要有广泛的活动范围。
They also needed to be strong and long-lasting.
它们还必须是坚固的和持续性的。
Hanger worked with a company that often makes braces for horses.
汉格诊所与一家经常为马做支架的公司合作。
The team created models of the giraffe's legs.
该团队制作了这只长颈鹿腿的模型。
It took the team about a week to produce the braces, which were made of a material called carbon graphite.
该团队花了大约一周的时间制作这个支架，它是由一种名为碳石墨的材料制成。
In the end, Msituni only needed one brace.
最终，姆西图尼只需要一个支架。
The other leg corrected itself with the help of a temporary prosthetic device.
另一条腿在临时假肢的帮助下自行矫正。
While the giraffe was sleeping during the fitting operation, Mirzaian was moved by the animal's beauty.
在试穿过程中，这只长颈鹿正在睡觉，米尔扎伊安被长颈鹿的美丽感动了。
He said he had to give her a hug.
他说他必须给她一个拥抱。
"It was just amazing seeing such a big, beautiful creature just laying there in front of me," he said.
他说：“看到这么大、这么漂亮的生物就躺在我面前，真是太神奇了。”
After 10 days in the special brace, the problem was corrected.
在使用特殊支架10天后，问题得到了纠正。
In total, Msituni was in braces for 39 days from the day she was born.
从出生那天起，姆西图尼总共戴了39天支架。
She stayed in the animal hospital the whole time.
她一直戴在动物医院。
Msituni was then slowly introduced to her mother and the other giraffes.
之后，工作人员慢慢地把姆西图尼介绍给她的母亲和其他长颈鹿。
Her mother never took her back.
她的母亲再也没有把她带回去。
But officials at the park said another female giraffe started looking out for Msituni.
但动物园的官员表示，另一只雌性长颈鹿开始照顾姆西图尼。
They said that she was now able to run with the other giraffes.
他们说，她现在可以和其他长颈鹿一起奔跑了。
Mirzaian said he planned to put up a picture in his office of the baby giraffe wearing her special brace so that the children he treats might be inspired to wear their own braces.
米尔扎伊安说，他打算在他的办公室里贴一张这只小长颈鹿戴着特殊支架的照片，这样可以激励他治疗的孩子戴上自己的支架。
"It was the coolest thing to see an animal like that walk in a brace," he said.
他说：“看到诸如此类的动物戴着支架走路是最酷的事情”。
"It feels good to know we saved a giraffe's life."
“知道我们救了一只长颈鹿的命，感觉真好。”
I'm Bryan Lynn.
布莱恩·林恩为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
