Tuesday, 30 March 2010

Animal Prosthetics

Tonka, the Turtle on Wheels - Tonka, a Bay Area Turtle, lost mobility after her legs were bitten by a dog, so Peninsula Humane Society workers fitted the three-legged tortoise with a set of toy wheels.

Suddenly, Tonka was off a rolling! slowly of course. And then, in the next couple of days, when her picture showed up in the morning newspaper, she was adopted almost immediately.



Molly, the Pony With A Prosthetic Leg - Meet Molly the pony. She's a gray speckled pony who was abandoned by her owners when Hurricane Katrina hit southern Louisiana . Molly then spent weeks on her own following the 2005 catastrophe before finally being rescued and taken to a farm where abandoned animals were stockpiled. While there, she was attacked by a pit bull terrier and almost died.

Her right front leg was terribly damaged and became infected. Vets thought that was it and Molly looked to be on her way to the knackers yard, but then surgeon Rustin Moore met Molly, he changed his mind. He noticed how the pony was careful to lie down on different sides so she didn't seem to get sores, and how she allowed people to handle her. Moore agreed to remove her leg below the knee and a temporary artificial limb was built. Molly walked out of the clinic under her own steam, and is now an inspiration for children... and horses around the world.


Motala, the elephant with a bag of woods - Motala the elephant stepped on a land mine near the Thai-Burma border in 1999. Veterinarians were able to repair her front leg, but it was left much shorter than the others. At Friends of the Asian Elephant's hospital in Thailand, Motala began using a prosthetic leg in 2005. The prosthesis is a bag filled with wood shavings, which makes her damaged leg as long as the others. She accepted the attachment, and is still using the same kind of prosthetic leg.


Stumpy, the kangaroo with a Prosthetic Limb - Stumpy the red kangaroo lives in Ohio, at the International Kangaroo Society's sanctuary. She only has one leg. Veterinarians at Ohio State University created an artificial limb for her. Dr. David E. Anderson, Associate Professor of Surgery, Food Animal, of the College of Veterinary Medicine and Richard Nitsch, a licensed prosthesis orthotist for American Orthopedics, made sure it included a spring to replicate the natural movement of a kangaroo.


Fuji, the Dolphin with a Rubber Tail - For decades, Fuji the dolphin had delighted children visiting an aquarium in Okinawa until a mysterious disease began eating away her tail fin. To save her life, almost all her tail fin had to be amputated.

A dolphin's tail fin is its engine. Without it, dolphins can't swim, jump or dive, so engineers from Bridgestone Tire Company worked to design a new rubber tail for Fuji. The first designs did not work properly or had some other drawback. Finally, Fuji accepted the third tail design, made of silicon rubber with a foam padding, and was able to swim almost as well as an intact dolphin.


Uzonka, the Stork with a Prosthetic bill - When a bird's beak is damaged, it may not be able to eat, drink, or hunt properly and could die as a result. Uzonka the stork had her bill damaged by human assault. She received a prosthetic beak after five preparatory operations and is in the care of an animal hospital in Uzon, Romania.





World's Most Dangerous Zoo

A controversial zoo in Argentina allows tourists to have extremely close encounters with some of the most dangerous predators in the world.

At the Lujan Zoo near Buenos Aires visitors can ride lions, cuddle bears, stroke tigers and feed cheetahs. Cages are accessible to everyone who has paid the $50 and signed the paper saying that if you are eaten, the Zoo is not responsible!!

You read that correctly. If you are eaten, the Zoo is not responsible!! Children are allowed inside Lion cages. I will repeat that. Children are allowed inside Lion cages...!! Is this some kind of joke? It has to be right?

I mean are the animals drugged? If someone isn’t eaten or injured at least once a day I’d be shocked.

















Kruger Safari National Park

Kruger Safari National Park,
South Africa























Look What Showed Up

Take a look at what shows up at a stock tank in dry weather.

For those of you that have never hunted in South Texas. We post motion detector cameras at our feeders/tanks to see what is going on.

Check out this sequence at a water tank.
















Dangerous Flesh Eating Plant

Scientists have discovered a flesh-eating plant so big that it can swallow and devour a whole rat! This new species is called Nepenthes Attenboroughii, it has been named after British nature expert Sir David Attenborugh.

This plant, which is a member of the pitcher family can grow more than 4-foot long. That's actually one of the biggest carnivorous plants discovered yet. Those plants produce big pitchers which are filled with water and they also secrete nectar that attracts insects and rodents. Once those poor creatures fall in, they cannot escape and end up drowning, and then, the acids and enzymes do their job. Generally, only the bones of the prey remain.






















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