Lucas, an African penguin who lives at the San Diego Zoo, no longer has to live with those “aching feet” thanks to a pair of prosthetic boots. The penguin suffers from a degenerative foot condition called bumblefoot, which causes painful lesions on his feet leading to infections and pain. If left untreated, the condition can lead to sepsis, infection and death.
According to Newsweek, Lucas’ new shoes are made of neoprene and rubber, which aids him in walking by keeping a lot of the pressure off of his feet. The boots were created by Thera-Paw which makes braces, limbs and other innovative devices for animals to improve mobility. Since 2005, the organization has fabricated over 25,000 unique, custom-made devices including specialty boots, carpal/wrist supports, elbow braces, tarsal/ankle braces, mobility aids and protective garments.
Lucas is now four-years-old, and initially had been inflicted with a spinal infection as a young chick that left him without the ability to stand properly. The zoo previously tried therapy and acupuncture to help relieve the penguin’s pain, but as the therapies failed to help and his condition worsened, the only choice left was to contact Thera-Paw.
And so now that Lucas has his boots, he’s back with his colony and is getting used to more normal penguin behaviors of rock climbing, swimming and poking around looking for a mate. Since his new boots have been fitted, Lucas is walking better, his posture has improved as well as his balance, and it appears that a little help from the humans who all adore him and of course, everyone who loves penguins and watching them, has really improved his quality of life.
This was such an amazing opportunity, and we were honored to be asked to assist the team at the San Diego Zoo. Over the years, we’ve tackled challenging cases like Lucas’s and each is special and memorable. One thing that never gets old is seeing an animal’s life dramatically improve after using on of our aids. It inspires and drives us every day.
Ilaria Borghese, found and president of Thera-Paw
African penguins are on the endangered list of threatened species with only 18,000 left meaning the population has decreased by 23% in just the last two years because of loss of habitat, climate change, pollution and a lack of food.
(Photos via courtesy of the San Diego Zoo)
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THERE ARE MANY MANY ANGELS AT THIS ZOO!