28 August, 2015:
A female Brazilian toucan, named Tieta, who had lost her beak has now been fitted with a 3D-printed prosthetic beak.
Tieta, while being trafficked by smugglers, was rescued by some wildlife rescuers in Rio de Janeiro. The information on how the bird lost its beak was either been caused by some mistreatment from smugglers or an attack by a larger bird.
Life has been hard for little Tieta since her beak was lost. She had been attempting to eat by throwing food in the air and trying to catch it. She not only has to struggle to eat but the missing beak has left her vulnerable to predators.
A project carried out by Instituto Vida Livre used the latest technology to scan, build and 3D print the missing beak out of plastic and sealing it with a special polymer made from castor oil plant.
The new 3D-printed beak
Tieta was fitted with the 3D-printed beak on July 27th after a 40 minutes surgery. It took Tieta a while to get used to her new beak.
Although the attachment of her new beak was a success, she still won’t be allowed to be released back into the wild as it is believed that she won’t be able to live independently. But still, her new beak will allow her to feed independently.
