In one of the few feline surgeries performed, veterinarians at the Junagadh Veterinary College Hospital worked with the forest department’s Jasadhar Animal Care Center to repair a three-month-old lion cub’s fractured jaw.
The cub was rescued by the forest department from the Paniya range of the Gir-east division last week. Rajdeepsinh Jhala Deputy conservator of forest, Gir-east division said, “The cub had suffered injuries in the jaw which came to the knowledge of the field staff. Doctors at Jasadhar diagnosed a fracture in the jaw which required surgery. The cub was taken to Junagadh Veterinary College Hospital.”
Although some adult lions have undergone similar operations, this was an unusual case involving a cub, according to the doctors. The procedure took around 3 hours, during which the physicians wired the jaw.
For the following 1.5 months, the cub will be monitored by the veterinarians at the Jasadhar centre. However, the fracture prevents it from chewing any flesh.
Dr Vaibhavsinh Dodiya at Jasadhar Animal Care Centre said, “We have to feed the cub with crushed mutton and eggs in a liquid form.” The cub would be given hard food gradually as the jaw condition improved.
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