Paraplegic porcupine saved by $5 wheelchair

By MiNDFOOD

Paraplegic porcupine saved by $5 wheelchair
A trainee vet in Brazil has saved a porcupine from being put down after fashioning a wheelchair from one seen on YouTube.

A paraplegic female porcupine has been saved all thanks to a DIY wheelchair made from plumbing pipes.

Unable to walk, the porcupine was about to be put down, when a trainee vet at the Piracicaba Municipal Zoo in Sao Paulo suggested making a wheelchair for the animal, similar to one she had seen on YouTube.

Costing under $5, the contraption has a sling to take the weight off the animal’s lower body and wheels in place of it’s hind legs.

Having arrived at the zoo in May after being rescued from a nightclub, environmental police initially believed the porcupine had sustained spinal injuries after falling from a roof, however, vets suspect it had been beaten on the back.

Marianna Cury, director of the zoo said ‘Even if it fell, it would not suffer a serious injury like this.’

Despite it’s injury, things are now looking up for the porcupine who is currently adapting to its new wheels.

The zoo hopes it will eventually join it’s fellow species.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE

Print Recipe

BECOME A MiNDFOOD SUBSCRIBER TODAY

Let us keep you up to date with our weekly MiNDFOOD e-newsletters which include the weekly menu plan, health and news updates or tempt your taste buds with the MiNDFOOD Daily Recipe. 

Member Login