Broke Beak

The bald eagle affectionately called Cyrano could have faced euthanasia due to the terrible injury to his beak, from a fishing line. Fortunately dentist, Kirk Johnson, was asked if he could come up with a prosthesis for the regal bird. He did just that, with the same substance crowns are made of held in place by poster putty. Dr. Johnson even used a yellow highlighter to color the piece to sort of match the natural beak. Cyrano, while doing well, will probably not be able to be returned to the wild. At least this beautiful bird won't have to be put down and will receive the loving care he deserves.
http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=11943748

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Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over forty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. Contact Us

Posted By: Alex - Sat Feb 06, 2010
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Comments

eagles are so beautiful! i thought it was great that the dentist could come up with an idea that worked to save the bird.

Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 02/06/10 at 08:32 PM

I'm glad he was able to save the bird but I'm dying to know...Is poster putty really that strong?

Posted by Nethie on 02/06/10 at 11:05 PM

I'm just amazed that dentists have finally found an honorable function in this new world. (pssst: you know, they're all decendants of the Spanish Inquisitioners)

Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 02/07/10 at 12:14 AM

you make me think of the dentist in the movie 'little shop of horrors' expat.

Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 02/07/10 at 12:23 AM

When was this? I remember seeing a bald eagle with the same sort of beak repair a year or two back in NatGeo.

Posted by venomlash on 02/07/10 at 12:38 AM

the story is dated 2/5/2010 and states that the injured eagle was found in december venomlash. there could very well be a similarly injured eagle that was helped in the past.

Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 02/07/10 at 02:53 AM

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