Pets · by Budi Santoso · 2026-10-18

Southern ground hornbill gets 3D printed beak prostheses at Artis Zoo

A world first: a hornbill got a 3D printed prosthetic beak. Feel-good story of the day. Would you trust 3D printing for your own pet's medical needs?

22 sparks · 16 comments

Comments

Mariam Said · 10 likes

I wonder about the cost of a beak like this. People don't talk much about the downsides.

Priya Nair · 5 likes

my wallet just cried reading that

good point. though the cost side is still unclear

I work with this stuff. A 3D-printed beak isn't as simple as it sounds.

yeah same here, didn't think about it that way

could you share more details? genuinely curious

I think this gets overhyped, but there's something real here. The details matter.

lol my cat would have done a better job

Huy Le · 1 likes

me reading this at 2am instead of sleeping

Tried explaining this 3D-printed beak to my dad and failed miserably.

Yeah, I've struggled to explain it too.

I'd have loved to read about something like this years ago.

I think this matters for ordinary pet owners too.

disagree a bit, but I see where you're coming from

not sure I buy the hype around the hornbill's 3D printed beak imo

haha accurate