Artificial Beak for Bald Eagle

Beauty is an Alaskan bald eagle whose beak was shot off several years ago. She was found in 2005, unable to properly hunt or eat. She was taken to a refuge, but her beak did not grow back. Now she will get a new one!
"For Beauty it's like using only one chopstick to eat. It can't be done" said biologist Jane Fink Cantwell, who operates a raptor recovery center in this Idaho Panhandle town. "She has trouble drinking. She can't preen her feathers. That's all about to change."

Cantwell has spent the past two years assembling a team to design and build an artificial beak. They plan to attach it to Beauty next month. With the beak, the 7-year-old bald eagle could live to the age of 50, although not in the wild.

"She could not survive in the wild without human intervention," Cantwell said.

The nylon-composite beak will be glued on, so it won’t be strong enough to rip flesh like a normal eagle, but will allow her to drink normally and eat food she is given. Link -via Digg

Comments (13)

Newest 5
Newest 5 Comments

I found an orphaned duckling about 20 years ago and took it to a retired vet who was recommended by the Audubon Society. He and his wife had a garage filled with Cockatoos and Cockateels and a houseful of other birds. They showed me pictures of a duck whose bill the vet had reconstructed using dental materials. It wasn't pretty but it was functional. However, ducks don't usually have to rip flesh. Usually.
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
L.C. really has a point. Humanity sucks in general. We've shot animals for fun, we fight over religion, we're ruining the atmosphere...frankly, I think the Earth would do better with us in the pre-stone age...

For Beauty, she's a lucky one. I hope Neatorama follows her progress.
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
L.C. says "People suck". Do you mean the people taking the insanely great care of this eagle to give it a new beak? Or do you mean the hunter who fired a shot at it? Or perhaps you're just a human-hater who thinks virtually any action that isn't in harmony with "Goddess Gaia" and all her wonderful creations is a crime?
With those two words L.C. you seem to poetically point out one of the "eternal truths" of humanity - and simultaneously place yourself in the "suck" section.
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
As the Gandhi action figure would note, what good does hating them do? There are millions of them, they really love being arabic, and they really love their archaic never-had-a-renaissance religion. At this point the only solution I can think of is getting them used to being mocked like every other faith.

More Prophet comics!
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say that I hate the arabic race, indeed, I'd never say that, but what I will say is that the Saudis and the Pakistanis are neck in neck when it comes to breeding islamic fundamentalist lunatics (but not to far ahead of the US with their christian fundamentalist lunatic elements, like taht dumbass homophobic phelps phucker, who I'd glady stick a flaming hot poker up his ass to watch him die in agony for all of the pain he has cause in his worthless hateful existance). No really.
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
I'm sure if they did this for the pope we'd be hearing from the arab hating christians as well, despite the pope's striking resemblance to Darth Sidious
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
Muslims are not Arabs. Believers are all over the world.

My main concern about Islam is that most of the believers go by the book. Strictly. It's a tribal book whose teachings are not adapted to modern western standards.
I know it well because as a Christian I believe in the Old testament. I believe in the message, not strictly in the writings. Or I wouldn't believe in the dinosaurs (sorry creationists), I would believe it's ok to stone somebody for improper use of "God" (Leviticus 24:10), and for working on saturday as well (Numbers 15:32), or ok to stone your child with ADD (Deuteronomy 21:18) or I would even ok genocide (Numbers 31:1), etc, etc.

I mean, come on! Those Holy stories, although holy and respectable, are based on tribes that lived thousands of years ago. It is, IMO, not something to take litterally, but a base for thinking, prayer and life improvement.

It is not because prophet Muhammad married a 9 years old that it's ok to do it today! O tempo O mores! You have to go beyond the text and look for humanity improvement!

Lastly : did they really play the Star Wars bad guys theme???? Even true, how unPC!!!
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
Reminds me of the President of Iran's trip to the US recently, where he told people that there are no homosexuals in the Arabic world (same sort of blinkerism and denial that the USSR was doing about AIDS several years back).

They will continue to say - and maybe even believe - crazy stuff like that as long as they're unchallenged. Muslims need to challenge their ideas and themselves. Trouble is, they're happy in their hatred. Look how that educated British Muslim on the TV show was quick to bring in comments about Jews.

I worked with a young Muslim who believed that no Jews were harmed during the World Trade Centre attacks - apparently, they all knew in advance...

What sort of intelligent reasoning can you have with people who are that myopic?
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
The muslims need their own planet, far, far away.

Either that or the rest of us develop technology that lets us leave them behind here on Earth as we venture out into the universe and forget that whole stupid caliphate and sharia thing ever existed...
Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)
Login to comment.
Email This Post to a Friend
"Artificial Beak for Bald Eagle"

Separate multiple emails with a comma. Limit 5.

 

Success! Your email has been sent!

close window
X

This website uses cookies.

This website uses cookies to improve user experience. By using this website you consent to all cookies in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

I agree
 
Learn More