• A critically endangered ploughshare tortoise named Hope was found seriously hurt in a bag with 56 other live tortoises in Hong Kong.
• His front leg had to be cut off, and three wheels were put on the bottom of his shell to help him get around.
• Now he uses his own legs and a prosthetic “stump” instead.

Zookeepers say that a three-legged tortoise who was saved from smugglers and taken to a British zoo has stopped using wheels to get around and instead uses his own legs and a prosthetic “stump.”

According to the Cheshire Zoo, a critically endangered ploughshare tortoise named Hope was found seriously hurt in a bag with 56 other live tortoises in Hong Kong.

Hope’s front leg had to be cut off, and three wheels were put on the bottom of his shell to help him get around.

Hope was taken to the Cheshire Zoo, where workers said he is now strong enough to move around without wheels. So that he could move without falling over, the three rollers were taken out, and a prosthetic “stump” was attached to the underside of his shell, near where his leg used to be.

A zoo video shows Hope checking out his new home.

The zoo says that Hope’s presence at the zoo is a godsend for researchers because ploughshare tortoises are hard to keep an eye on and study in the wild because they are endangered.

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