Bionic Beak

Beauty - a gorgeous American bald eagle - had her upper beak torn off by gunshot from poachers. Her tongue and sinuses were exposed, and she was barely getting by with food by scrounging at a landfill. Rescuers found her and took her to the Birds of Prey Northwest Ranch in Anchorage, where she has been recovering since. Now a team fitted her to an artificial beak made of polymer plastic, and this temporary beak will be replaced with a titanium one in the near future. She most likely will not be able to return to the wild because her dependence on hand-feeding. Her beak can never be strong enough to rip flesh from prey. At least Beauty can now more easily grasp food, drink, and preen herself.

I am glad we are taking action to help animals, especially those who have been hurt by humans. I also saw on the news this morning, a dolphin being fitted with a prosthetic fluke to replace the one he lost in a crab trap.

See more pictures here
http://birdsofpreynorthwest.org/

Read the full article here
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/bionic_beak

Image © Associated Press 2008