A nine-year-old Chilean flamingo at Caldwell Zoo in Tyler, Texas, is walking normally again with help from a piece of medical equipment you’d expect to see on a person. Queenie tore ligaments in his ankle back in 2021 after getting spooked and running on exhibit. Keepers noticed he was lagging behind the flock. Medication helped, but it never fully solved the problem, and for a flamingo, leg function is everything. These birds stand for hours at a time, so an ankle that won’t bear weight changes daily life.
That’s when the zoo brought in Ben Guenther, an orthopedist who normally designs braces and prosthetics for humans. He built Queenie a custom brace, and Bird Department Supervisor Nichole Moore says the difference is obvious now that he’s used to wearing it. He puts full weight on that leg again. Because Chilean flamingos can live into their 60s, Queenie will wear the brace for life, with weekly checks for swelling or irritation to make sure his skin stays healthy under the device.
Animal braces and prosthetics are a growing field, and cases like this show how human medical expertise can cross over to help wildlife in human care. For those of us on the Suncoast who spend time around birds, whether it’s herons at the beach or the flock at a local zoo, it’s a good reminder of how much specialized attention these long-lived animals need. Have you ever watched an animal recover from an injury? Tell us about it in the comments.
