Strutting his Stuff: Troppo Puts his Best Foot Forward!
May
We want to share a success story made possible by the hard work of a dedicated team of both rangers and veterinary staff:
Several weeks ago we noticed our male cassowary Troppo was limping, favouring his right leg. We started him on pain meds right away, and kept a close eye on him, but he did not improve.
Rangers called in avian specialist Dr Ingrid from Greencross Vets. An onsite x-ray revealed that Troppo had somehow broken his middle toe!
It was initially splinted, but when it appeared that the toe wasn’t healing, Dr Ingrid decided to partially amputate which meant a trip to town for a bird weighing more than 40 kilos!
Troppo was sedated and bundled into the back of Cam’s car.
Back home a couple of hours later, he was carefully monitored as the anaesthetic wore off.
Troppo was feeling a bit sick and sorry for several days, and stayed tucked away under his ginger plants while still receiving his meds.
Before long we were delighted to see that he was strutting his stuff again, toe-tally recovered from his ordeal, running around his enclosure, checking in with his partner Hope, and happily accepting grapes at the morning feeding show.
Billabong Sanctuary is a proud partner in the Southern Cassowary Captive Management Programme.. We have high hopes that Troppo and his partner Hope are a compatible pair.. For now they visit through the fence, but as breeding season approaches they will share a single enclosure. Fingers crossed for a successful outcome!
Meanwhile our deepest thanks to Dr Ingrid and team members Alanna and Gemma who went above and beyond their daily routine to provide expert care for Troppo.
