Photo/Illutration Hiroko Iima (Photo by Makoto Takada)

When Hiroko Iima became a veterinarian at a zoo, she was put in charge of Japanese cranes, although she knew almost nothing about them.

A decade later, she has become the savior of the birds at Kushiro City Zoo in Hokkaido who were hit by cars and had their legs severely injured.

She has fashioned aluminum prosthetic legs for the cranes, who went on display to the public two years ago. 

 “I would like visitors to look at the reality and hope that the number of car accidents will be reduced,” she said.

The Japanese crane, a majestic red-crested bird with white wings, is designated as a Japanese special natural treasure. 

The cranes are a threatened species and about 1,800 live around the Kushiro Shitsugen wetland.

According to the environment ministry, in fiscal 2019, the highest number of 53 Japanese cranes, including those that had been killed, were taken in or recovered due to accidents and other causes.

Many of the birds were hit by cars and taken to the zoo. But if they are unable to walk, they become weakened and die.

Once they have been fitted with artificial legs, maintenance is necessary on the limbs, so those injured birds can not be returned to the wild.

Iima, 39, comes from Takamatsu. After graduating from Ritsumeikan University, she transferred to the veterinary department at Rakuno Gakuen University to make her dream come true.

She was hired at the zoo when she was 28 and was asked to take charge of Japanese cranes.

“Japanese cranes are at the same eye level as mine and are strong,” she said. “They pecked my face but now I can hold their bodies in my arms.”

For the injured cranes, Iima purchases aluminum sticks for prosthetic legs and rubber for the feet part at DIY stores.

She makes a resin cast of their legs and fashions their prosthetic legs by hand. It costs about 6,000 yen ($56.57) per piece.

Currently, five cranes are undergoing rehabilitation.

The breeding huts are crowded with them. Iima sometimes agonizes over whether she can continue to care for them over their 30-year lifespans.

Iima sometimes asks visitors to touch their artificial legs and shows the operation room to them.

“Why do we need to protect them?," she asked. "Zoos should be the place to think about humans and society."

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