Young ZEbra

Receives Prosthetic Leg At Leading Sanctuary

Text by Martin Chemhere

Free 2 Be Wild Sanctuary in Bulawayo has announced having become the first wildlife home in Zimbabwe to have a young zebra fitted with a prosthetic leg. The occasion was even more special since the zebra named Peggy is young, rescued in May from Devil’s Gorge, roughly 1000 km from the sanctuary, with an already broken back (left) leg.

The broken leg is suspected to have caused by a kick from a stallion zebra in her herd. The compassionate owners of the reserve (Devil’s Gorge Concession) wanted to give Peggy a chance so they sent her to Free 2 Be Wild for treatment.

This is an amazing story for Free 2 Be Wild, home to scores of rescued animals that undergo rehabilitation before being released back into the wild.

“We tried with an expert group of vets including an equine professor who is one of the best in Africa to try and save her leg. Unfortunately, the damage was too extensive, so we collaborated with Project Wild, an organization in South Africa who specialize in wildlife prosthetics to see if this would be a viable option. With great excitement of Peggy being the first Zebra in the world to receive a prosthetic which would go a long way in terms of research, surgery for an amputation was done and it was a success!”, said Baye Pigors, founder of Free 2 Be Wild.

“It has been a long 6 weeks of recovery for Peggy as Baye as we have needed her leg to heal from the amputation fully before the veterinarian team at Project Wild could fly out from SA to fit her new leg! Against all odds Peggy has made a full recovery with the help of our specialised team, volunteers and the general public of Bulawayo who rallied together to help us build specialized slings giving her mobility on three legs throughout her recovery!

“Project Wild will be flying to Zimbabwe in August to fit her leg and we couldn’t be more excited not only for Peggy but the door this opens for various other animal species in her predicament, that they too can get a second chance at life! It is a huge achievement for Free to be Wild to house the first wild animal in Zimbabwe with a prosthetic and we are so grateful to everyone who never gave up on her and have moved mountains to make this a possibility!” said Baye.

Peggy said that back in South Africa, Project Wild has had huge expert experience and groundbreaking achievements over the years. They have successfully fitted a prosthetic leg for a rhino and made a wing for a black eagle and they said this is a first for them to ever work with a zebra.

The use of prosthetics in animals is a relatively new field, and it is still developing. However, the results so far have been very promising. Prosthetics can help wild animals regain their mobility and independence, and they can also improve their quality of life. As the field of animal prosthetics continues to grow, even more, wild animals will likely benefit from this technology in the future.

Many wild animals have been amputated and fitted with prosthetic limbs globally. The number of documented cases of animals receiving prosthetics include Beauty the bald eagle who lost the upper portion of her beak after being shot by a hunter in 2002 in the USA. She was fitted with a nylon-composite beak replacement in 2006, which allowed her to return to eating and flying. This was the first prosthetic fitted on a wild animal.

After losing her tail in a crab trap in 2006 in the USA, Winter the dolphin was fitted with a prosthetic tail made of plastic and silicone in 2007, which allowed her to swim and play like a normal dolphin.

Chhouk the Cambodian elephant lost part of a front leg as a result of becoming caught in a poacher’s snare in 2007. He was given a prosthetic foot made of fiberglass and nylon, which allowed him to walk and run again.

In Japan Yu Chan the loggerhead sea turtle lost portions of two limbs as a result of becoming entangled in a fishing net in 2010. She was fitted with flipper prosthetics made of plastic and rubber, which allowed her to swim again.

These are just a few recorded examples of the many wild animals that have been fitted with prosthetic limbs.