Rescued from Ukraine Lioness Undergoes Critical Dental Operation

Lira the lioness undergoing dental surgery — Lira the lioness from The Big Cat Sanctuary undergoing critical dental surgery to remove a severely infected lower right canine tooth

A three-year-old lioness rescued from conflict-ridden the war zone has undergone vital dental surgery to extract a severely infected fang caused by an abscess.

The lioness was brought to a wildlife sanctuary in Smarden, Kent on 14 March following a fundraising effort by managing director Cam Whitnall, who raised half a million pounds to fund her and four other rescued lions.

Amani and Lira at the sanctuary — Amani and Lira are two of the big cats from Ukraine that arrived in March

The procedure was performed on last week by dentist an experienced animal dentist, who has treated about 450 big cats.

"Upon inspecting Lira's jaw and mouth, I could see immediately the broken tooth was severely infected," said Mr Kertesz.

He thought the dental issue was due to a trauma sustained over twelve months back, causing bacteria creating harmful substances inside the tooth.

"My philosophy is non-human oral health issues should be addressed in the most predictable, the least invasive and safest way," he said.

Mr Kertesz explained that as Lira no longer required to hunt for food, removal was the most "sensible and ethical solution."

Lira's extracted tooth — Lira's extracted lower right canine tooth was 8cm (3.14 inches) long

The rescue center said the extracted tooth was 8cm (3.14 inches) long, with the dentist having to extract a pocket of pus from under the fang and close the significant opening with multiple absorbable stitches.

He also performed a root canal treatment on the opposing upper canine tooth, which was also found to be infected.

Briony Smith, manager at The Big Cat Sanctuary, said the operation was a "total triumph."

She said the team had observed "a minor swelling on Lira's jawline" but it had been impossible to assess "how serious the condition was."

"The lioness will be a little uncomfortable to initially, but now that the infectious materials are out of her body, she will start to feel much better over the coming days," commented the curator.

This vital operation marks a significant step in the lioness's healing process after her arrival from the conflict area.