Avian Orthotics
From Leicestershire Wildlife Hospital
This whitethroat arrived into care after colliding with a car and sitting stunned in the road.
The finders noticed that the feet were curled and unable to grip (as can be seen
on the first photobelow), but after some warmth he had perked up since first found!On arrival to our wildlife hospital, our team created him some shoes to allow the toes to sit and heal in the correct position. The curling could be due to nerve or ligament damage so we will be closely monitoring his progress.
4 replies
I’ve got a bird that comes to my feeder that’s got one foot curled up. It looks withered and dead. Seems to be doing all right with one leg though.
I'm excited you have such a neat and unique bird to watch and learn about.
It's amazing what some of them can overcome. We don't get to see those who didn't adapt, but in a way, that makes the ones that do even greater displays of the will to survive.
I always try to keep in mind that modern medicine for humanity is barely a blink in time for our species, let alone all of life on Earth, and it's baffling any of us made it this far as species!
I'm shocked this one survived being hit, they're amazing little creatures.
It looks very good for a collision! I'm wondering if it hit the side of the car, rather than being hit by the front of the car. I had a deer hit the side of my car after I had stopped for it (tried to zig as I was stopping) and the deer ran off seemingly fine, unlike my fender...
Thankfully for this bird, its accidental bump with the car may be the best thing that ever happened if it means its feet will be fixed.
Never count an animal out! I see them bounce back from so much all the time!