Mr Stubbs is a 2m long alligator that lost its tail at an early age, and now it has an orange water wing on its butt and a rubber tail. This marvel of science is given to us by the Phoenix Herpetological Society.
Its prosthetic is made from rubber and moulded from an alligator cadaver of roughly the same size. The tail was dissected to be mass-proportional and weight-proportional — so there’s some actual science here — and attached by nylon straps. And it’s actually made Mr Stubbs even clumsier.
The 11-year-old alligator learned to swim in a local pool, getting around by doggy paddling. His new tail will ultimately be a benefit (we think!). Until then, the Herpetological Society had the prescience to stick the water wing on his behind, which is, of course, just about perfect.