PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 20 July,
2016, 2:34pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 20 July,
2016, 10:10pm
Chinese veterinary surgeons have
given a red-crowned crane a new beak – made out of titanium using a 3D printer
– after its original beak was broken in a fight with another bird, mainland
media report.
The bird, which lives in a zoo in
Guangzhou, the capital city of Guangdong province, received the upper beak
implant during surgery last week at an animal hospital in the province, Xinhua
reported.
Some mainland internet users
wrote that the crane would become “invincible” in any future fights because of
its “Wolverine” beak – a reference to the X-Men mutant superhero with
metal claws.
The birds, also known as Japanese
cranes, are among the most aggressive native species of Asia, and are often
seen using their long, sharp beaks to attack each other, or predators such as
eagles.
They have even been known to
attack humans.
In 2014, several bird watchers
suffered numerous injuries to their bodies and their clothes were damaged after
being attacked by an adult red crown crane at a national reserve in Baicheng
city, in Jilin province.
