OMG they made a prosthetic leg for a male mallard and it works! Is there anything more satisfying than seeing a lame duck walk again? It takes Waddles a bit to learn how to walk, but we’re reassured that he’ll get better and better with time.
Nerdist tells us a bit more of the story, but not of the fate of Waddles and his new leg. But there is also some general information:
Laughing Squid picked up on Waddles first-ever go-round with his new, prosthetic leg. The crew at Bionic Pets made the leg for the wildly cute duck in an attempt to vastly improve his quality of life. And in the video clip above from the National Geographic show, The Wizard of Paws, we see Derek Campana from Bionic Pets strap Waddles to his fun, faux leg for the first time.
. . . Campana says this tech’s “not only cool for Waddles, but for all the birds to come” who’ll also benefit from cutting-edge prosthetics. Indeed, we’ve perused the Bionic Pets site, and Campana and company are working on some seriously cool animal prosthetics.
Kudos to all the people who care enough to help hobbled animals live a good life.
h/t: Jean, Tim
Very sweet!
The only thing more rewarding than seeing a duck get a new leg was seeing the eagle who’s got shot off get a new one from a sculpting dentist.
Please, never let politicians find out you can cure a lame duck.
Great one, Ken!
Real-life heroes!
Cool that they helped the duck walk better. But, isn’t that only helpful if the duck remains captive and inside? I can’t imagine it as anything but a hinderance to swimming or flying. So, if it’s a pet, great. If this is a rehab and release, it seems well intentioned but probably not a good idea.
All in all, 3D printers are awesome. They’re our gateway to replicators and are only going to get better.