World's Most Incredible Animal Prosthetics

Published on 10/8/2008 under Medicine - 150,653 views
TAGS: Animal Prosthetics, Animal Prostheses, Prosthetic animals, Tonka the Turtle, Molly the Pony, Motala the elephant, Fuji the Dolphin, Uzonka the Stork, Stumpy the kangaroo,

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.

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.

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.

Reader Contributions --There are no contributions yet-- Have a great addition to the article? Contribute!

Subscribe by RSS: Subscribe by E-mail:	Share this: E-mail it Del.icio.us Share Corrections? (Click the icon, then highlight the correction --registration required)

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like...
7 Phenomenal Animals

 

 

	10 Far-out Valentine's Gifts
	10 Geekiest T-Shirts
	10 Coolest Computer Mice
	12 Strangest Ties
	12 Funniest Wedding Cake Toppers
	10 Coolest Bottle Openers
	10 Most Creative Holders
	10 Coolest USB Flash Drives
	10 Coolest USB Accessories
	10 Most Creative Ice Cube Trays

	10 of the World's Worst Jobs
	10 of the World's Greatest Jobs
	15 Strangest Contact Lenses
	15 Funny Facebook Fails
	12 Funny Roller Coaster Photos
	18 Wackiest Tramp Stamps
	World's Oddest Mothers
	12 Coolest Google Street Finds
	10 Geekiest Panties
	12 Accidental Deaths You Won't Believe
	15 Coolest Google Earth Finds
	10 Audacious Amputee Tattoos
	10 Strangest Animal Incidents
	12 Most Bizarre Police Sketches Ever
	10 Craziest Plastic Surgeries to Look Like Someone Else
	10 Unbelievable Facebook Stories
	15 Most Stupid Forehead Tattoos
	12 Most Creative Indoor Staircases
	Worst Birthday Cakes Ever
	15 Geekiest Tattoos
	10 Most Famous Doctored Photos
	10 of the World's Most Bizarre Laws
	8 People Who Accidentally Found a Fortune
	12 Funniest Wedding Cake Toppers
	10 Most Bizarre Sex Toys
	10 Most Controversial Music Videos
	12 Coolest Steampunk Gadgets
	12 of the Wackiest Condoms ever
	World's Tallest
	World's Oddest Couples
	Another 10 Hilarious Homeless Signs
	When Cosplay Goes Wrong

Oddee by Category: Art  |  Advertising
Signs  |  Names
Places  |  People
Objects  |  Gifts
Science  |  Medicine
Stories  |  Tech
Misc

Search Oddee.com:

Sites we like:
I-am-bored | 2leep
CollegeHumor | Leenks
URLesque | UniqueDaily
Uncoached | Unreality
DRB | Inspiratorium
WebUrbanist | Ecoist
Gajitz | Dornob
GorillaMask | Eat Liver Neatorama | Uphaa


Oddee.com makes PC Magazine's Top 100 Web Sites of 2008!

Great articles on other blogs: