She made him the most unique replacement 😱
When butterfly rescuer Dahlia Nulman discovered a monarch butterfly with a broken wing, her heart sank. She watched helplessly as more of his wing crumbled away, leaving him unable to fly.
Typically, there isn’t much that can be done for a butterfly in such a situation, but Nulman couldn’t bring herself to give up. “I knew I had to improvise quickly,” she recalled.
She decided to attempt a bold solution: using a feather as a prosthetic wing. After visiting a craft store, she found a feather that seemed to match the size of the butterfly’s wing. She carefully shaped and trimmed it to ensure it was as lightweight as possible.
When she attached the feather, Nulman felt a glimmer of hope, but she was uncertain about its effectiveness. Initially, the butterfly could only manage to fly a few feet before crashing down. She affectionately named him “Nemo-Bucky the bionic butterfly” and devoted herself to helping him regain his flight.
With each fall, Nulman was there to lift him up again, and slowly but surely, Nemo-Bucky began to improve. Eventually, he was strong enough to take practice flights outside. “One day, I brought him into the garden, and after a few minutes, it felt like he was thanking me,” she said.
After basking in the sun for a bit, Nemo-Bucky suddenly took off, flying out of sight.
“He was ready to go, but I wasn’t prepared to see him leave,” Nulman admitted.
It was a bittersweet moment—she longed for his freedom but already missed his presence. Unsure if she’d ever see him again, Nulman was caught between joy and sadness.
To her surprise, a short time later, Nemo-Bucky returned to her garden. She was astonished to see him back.
“He was thriving and living his best butterfly life,” Nulman said with delight.
The impact of Nemo-Bucky’s journey resonated so deeply with Nulman that she chose to honor him with a tattoo. His resilience serves as a powerful reminder to her to never give up, no matter the challenges she faces.