An elephant at Amsterdams Artis zoo has become the first elephant in Europe to be fitted with contact lens. Her eye was injured during a scuffle with another elephant， the zoo says. This forty-five-year-old Win Thida is the dominant matriarch of the Amsterdam herd in the zoo. She started life on a Burmese camp and came to the Netherlands in 1989.

Win Thidas eye began streaming and she was evidently having trouble keeping it open because of the pain. A vet was called in and an examination revealed that the elephants cornea had been damaged， most likely by a twig.

The vet said she had often fitted horses with contact lenses， but this was the first time she attempted the procedure with an elephant. Fortunately Win Thida was very cooperative. She had to remain standing under anaesthetic， as elephants cant lie down for long before their immense weight hampers their breathing.

The treatment took less than an hour， and Win Thida seemed happier straight away. She was immediately able to keep her eye open more easily. Protected by the contact lens， the wound on her cornea would now be able to heal， the vet said.

阿姆斯特丹阿提斯動(dòng)物園內(nèi)，出現(xiàn)了歐洲第一只佩戴隱形眼鏡的大象。動(dòng)物園稱，該大象的眼睛在和同伴的打斗中受了傷。這只名為文齊達(dá)的母象現(xiàn)年45歲，是阿姆斯特丹（阿提斯動(dòng)物園內(nèi)）象群的女酋長(zhǎng)。她出生于緬甸的一座象營(yíng)中，1989年來(lái)到荷蘭。

文齊達(dá)的眼睛開(kāi)始不斷流淚，而且顯然因?yàn)樘弁炊牪婚_(kāi)。動(dòng)物園請(qǐng)來(lái)獸醫(yī)為它看病，檢查結(jié)果顯示大象的角膜已經(jīng)受損，很可能是被樹(shù)枝刮傷的。

獸醫(yī)說(shuō)，她經(jīng)常給馬佩戴隱形眼鏡，但是給大象戴還是第一次嘗試。幸運(yùn)的是，文齊達(dá)對(duì)此非常配合。在麻醉狀態(tài)下，她還必須保持站立的姿勢(shì)。因?yàn)槿绻上拢^(guò)不了多久大象龐大的身軀就會(huì)造成自身的呼吸困難。

整個(gè)治療的過(guò)程僅用了不到一個(gè)小時(shí)，手術(shù)后文齊達(dá)似乎馬上就心情愉悅起來(lái)。她的眼睛很快就能輕松地睜開(kāi)了。獸醫(yī)說(shuō)，有了隱形眼鏡的保護(hù)，她眼角膜上的傷口就能夠慢慢愈合了。