3d Printed Beak on its Way for Injured Toucan

Grecia the toucan was brutally attacked by a group of children in his native Costa Rica, and at the end of the incident, the male bird was left with a beak which had literally been broken in half. Without their signature beaks, toucans are essentially helpless as their bills do everything from help them regulate their body temperature and to aid them in capturing mating interest. But a group of people outraged by the bird's situation quickly raised more than $7,000 to help them pay for a 3D printed beak to get the bird healthy once more. You can read the whole story here: http://3dprint.com/43986/toucan-3d-printed-beak/


Below is a photo of Grecia with his veterinarian, Carmen Soto:
http://3dprint.com/wp-content/upload...7_80932156.jpg

Another great use of 3D printing for the greater good.

About a year ago, we published a story on Grecia, a toucan who had lost the top part of his beak in a cruel attack by a group of boys. At the time, Grecia was healing at an animal rescue center, and the plan was to fit him for a 3D printed beak prosthesis as soon as he was well enough. A year later, Grecia's story has a happy ending: despite a few challenges, a beak was successfully printed and fitted to the toucan, who can now sing, feed himself, and do the other normal toucan things he was unable to do before. Read more at 3DPrint.com: http://3dprint.com/115060/grecia-tou...-printed-beak/
http://3dprint.com/wp-content/upload...01/grecia2.jpg

This is good news not only for the magnificent toucan. It also means that a crowd funding campaign that I backed actually delivered (unlike iBox Nano)!