‘Toucan Nation’ Preview: How a 3D Printer Helped Save Grecia
On Aug. 24, Animal Planet premieres the documentary Toucan Nation, the story of how Costa Rica rallied to rescue Grecia, a toucan who lost most of the upper part of his beak to vicious animal cruelty and sparked a national animal welfare movement.
Related: Fighting Animal Cruelty in Latin America, One Tweet at a Time
The incident made headlines in early 2015, when social media spread news of the bird who was left unable to eat enough food on his own to survive. While those at the ZooAve animal refuge center treated and fed Grecia, a team of volunteer experts, including 3D-printing engineers, worked to design and construct a prosthetic beak — a process you can preview in the video above.
Activists, meanwhile, waged a battle to implement penalties for animal cruelty in the country.
Toucan Nation, directed by Emmy winner Paula Heredia (In Memoriam: New York City), premieres Aug. 24 at 10 p.m. on Animal Planet.
