MAN INVENTS `ADIDAS' FOR ELEPHANTS

MAN INVENTS `ADIDAS' FOR ELEPHANTS

SAN DIEGO (Wireless Flash) -- You already knew elephants had trunks but now some of them will be getting shoes as well. A San Diego inventor has created special elephant shoes designed to protect the creatures' tootsies if they accidentally step on land mines. The elephant shoes are about the size of a dinner plate and are made out of boron carbide, a material used in armor plating. Inventor Robert Beken came up with the idea to protect elephants in Southeast Asia where land mines are almost as common as rocks. Although most elephants that step on the explosive booby traps don't die, many must have their legs amputated or be put out of their misery. The shoes cost about $10,000 per pair.