SCIENTISTS from Salford are helping a three-legged panda in China find love.Experts from the city's university are flying half-way round the world to fit the romance-starved bear with an artificial limb.
The panda, named Nui Nui, lost her paw in a fight and has been unable to feed or mate since.There are only an estimated 2,000 giant pandas remaining and zoologists around the world are working on a breeding programme to save them from extinction - but the species are famously reluctant to mate.
Dr Glyn Heath, an expert in animal prosthetics, and his team will travel to Beijing next month to create and fit a prosthetic and train the animal to use it. He said: "We will be performing a procedure which will transform Nui Nui's life and ensure that she is able to reproduce and nourish herself."We will only know the final design of the limb once Nui Nui has been clinically assessed. "However, we envisage that it will feature a hook or false thumb enabling her to grab bamboo from the trees for food.
"We will engineer the leg so that it will bear the animal's full body weight, allowing her to balance on all fours, while walking around and standing."Specialists at the School of Health Care Professions in Salford are rapidly gaining a reputation for being able to help stricken animals. Dr Heath trained to build prosthetics for humans, but has since created mini-chariots for disabled rats and false legs for injured dogs.Since Nui Nui lost her paw in a fight with three other pandas, she has been unable to grasp bamboo and keepers at the Shaanxi Province Rescue Centre have had to feed her by hand.
The animal has also been unable to walk or balance herself properly, making breeding all but impossible.Dr Heath has successfully fitted artificial limbs for animals that otherwise have been put down, but Nui Nui will be the first panda he has treated. He said: "I'm confident Nui Nui will take to her new leg - most dogs we've worked with have been able to walk almost immediately after we've fitted false limbs."It's rewarding to know we're playing a part in protecting such a beautiful species."
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