Jary the great hornbill

Jary the great hornbill

Author:Elayna Goh
Illustrator: Grace Chia
Editor: Both above

NOTE:

Words in bold or

in blue

have their meanings on page 11

You may press

to hear recordings

Thank you!

Hello my name is Jary pronounced as ya-ri let me tell you about the story of how I overcome cancer.

First signs for cancer: A gash at the front of Jary’s casque

On July 2018, my keepers noticed a 8cm-wide gash on my casque, exposing underlying tissue that looked unhealthy.

Cancer was suspected. I was then sent for a

, to extract a tissue sample from my casque for examination

CT-guided biopsy

A high-tech plan to give Jary a chance to live

It was discovered that I had cancer! Vets started planning on removing the infected area of my casque through surgery and to replace it with a 3D-printed casque

3D printing engineers at NUS and Dr Hsu Li Chieh from The Animal Clinic were roped in for this.

The perfect fit for Jary

In the first such surgery for a hornbill ever recorded in the world, I received this 3D-printed casque.

It will stay with me till a new one grows back in.

I was eating normally the day after the operation and after a short recovery time at

avian

the hospital ward, I am now back in action in the park.

Staying well-groomed

I have been colouring my fake casque with a yellow pigment colour from my preening gland, as great hornbills do naturally have their casque. This means I have accepted the fake casque as a part of myself. I Have been paired with a female and my keepers are hopefully thinking we will hit it off

First post-operation medical check

An X-ray taken of my casque area showed no signs of recurrence of the cancer.

The vets also saw a piece of new tissue growth, and they are happy to report that I am appearing to be healing well. Blood samples were also taken to check on the health of my vital organs and overall body condition.

Blood sample

Piece of tissue growth