Animals with broken or missing limbs can still live a happy and active life with the help of prosthetic limbs. Here are 20 examples.They found Macho severely hurt on the side of the road in India. His rescuers were able to replace his mangled leg with a prosthetic one. He might not be able to gallup like a powerful stallion, but he’s able to move around and enjoy life for a while longer.
This adorable little piggy was born without his two hind legs. His owner, Len Lucero, built a tiny custom wheelchair with Kinex toys. The young kids in wheelchairs at the children’s hospitals saw Chris as a huge inspiration, and he became a star overnight.
Bunker was walking through a golf course when his leg was shattered by a golf ball. The first prosthetic leg he had fitted failed. The second was created by Orthopets in Denver, Colorado, and this time it worked. Hopefully, he’ll grow strong enough to survive in the wild on his own again.
Beauty lost a huge part of her beak to poachers. Thankfully, she survived and was rescued in time to have a new beak created for her. Kinetic Engineering Group created a 3-D printed peak that fit her perfectly. Now she can eat, drink, and clean herself again.
When they found Meadow she had terrible frostbite on her hind legs and ears. Nancy Dickenson saved her and bought prosthetic hind legs for her. Dr. Robert Callan, the vet who installed them, was surprised to find out he was doing this expensive procedure for an animal he’d normal be eating. Nancy considers little Meadow part of the family, so she felt it was worth it.
Normally marine life meet their demise when they’re caught in a fishing net, but Yu Chan the loggerhead turtle was actually saved by one. They noticed her front fins were gone, probably eaten by a shark. After many tries, Kawamura Gishi made her the perfect pair of prosthetic flippers. Yu Chan lives happily at the Suma Aqualife Park in Japan.
Sherry Hughes and Marc Field found a hurt llama on their ranch in Denver. They found his leg was so damaged it needed to be amputated. They adopted the llama, named him Tripod, and bought a prosthetic leg from Orthopets for him. What a lucky llama!
Septimus was hibernating when some hungry rats began to eat away at his front legs. Derren Strand found him under a porch before the damage killed him. His legs were infested with maggots, so the only options they had to save him were amputation or euthanasia. They decided to amputate his legs and replace them with some nifty model airplane wheels.
Hoppa was born without his front legs so he moved around by sliding on his torso. A set of wheels were designed for Hoppa and now he stands tall and gets around like the energetic pup he is!
Oscar was only two years old when a combine harvester severed his two hind legs. Veterinarian Noel Fitzpatrick created two new ones for Oscar with the help of the University College London team.
Nakio was left to freeze in a basement during a merciless winter in Nebraska. They found him with his four paws and tail frozen in a puddle of ice, so the only option they had was to remove them. Veterinary assistant Christie Pace adopted him and saved enough money to buy him prosthetic hind legs, but she didn’t have enough for his front legs. Orthopets, the company that made his hind legs, made his prosthetic front legs for free. Now Naki’o can rumble and tumble with his canine friends.
Fuji had a rare disease that cost him part of his tail. A Japanese veterinarian won support from the Bridgestone Corporation to build a tail for him. Interestingly, they made it with Formula One tire materials. Now Fuji can swim to safety and move around freely.
Emma was born with a deformed right hind leg. It was so bad that they amputated it and replaced it with a prosthetic leg while she was still very young. Emma can kick, buck, and go toe to toe with any donkey. Go Emma!
Tzevika is a beautiful turtle from Israel that was run over by a lawn mower. It cracked her shell, which lead to spinal chord injuries and not being able to use her back legs. Wheels were installed to her shell and now she’s as fast as a hot rod.
Motala accidentaly tripped a landmine from the Burmese-Thai war in 1999. The damage was so bad they had to remove most of her leg. In 2009, she finally got her prosthetic leg, at the age of 55. She was the first of many more elephants like her to get a leg like this one.
Billy has had his two hind legs paralyzed since he was born. With a little ingenuity, he’s been given a cleverly constructed wheelchair made with toy wheels and small water foam tubes.
Hope sadly lost her left front leg and had a difficult time getting around. Now she’s sporting an interesting unicycle wheel that keeps her nimble. Isn’t she adorable?
Right after hurricane Katrina, Molly was attacked by a dog. Her front leg was mangled and infected pretty badly, so they considered euthanizing her. Instead, Molly’s surgeon Roger Moore decided to amputate the leg and give her a prosthetic one. When the news about Molly spread around New Orleans, she became a symbol of hope. Now Molly visits rehab centers, nursing homes, and hospitals to spread the “Yes we can!” spirit.
When Dudley was a young duckling a group of angry chickens attacked him and took his leg. Even though he could still swim, waddling on land was too hard. Terence Loring made Dudley a new leg, so he teamed up with Proto3000. They used 3-D printing to create the new leg, and as he grows they can easily print new ones.
In 2007, this panda was missing her left paw after getting into a fight with other pandas. The Shaanxi Rare Wild Animal Rescue and Research Center in China rescued her and made a suitable prosthetic paw for her.
