🔗 Share this article

A Wildlife Rescue Center

A three-year-old lioness rescued from war-torn the war zone has received vital dental surgery to extract a badly decayed canine tooth caused by an infection.

Lira was brought to a wildlife sanctuary in Kent, England on March 14 after a campaign by managing director the sanctuary's leader, who collected £500,000 to fund her and several other lions from Ukraine.

The Big Cat Sanctuary

The procedure was performed on Friday by veterinary dentist Peter Kertesz, who has cared for hundreds of large felines.

"When I examined the lioness's oral cavity, I could see right away the damaged fang was highly inflamed," said the dentist.

He thought the infection was due to a injury experienced more than a year ago, leading to bacteria creating toxins inside the tooth.

"The approach I follow is animal oral health issues should be addressed in the most predictable, the most conservative and most secure manner," he explained.

Mr Kertesz explained that as the lioness did not need to catch prey, removal was the most "sensible and ethical solution."

The Big Cat Sanctuary

The sanctuary said the extracted tooth was 8cm (3.14 inches) long, with the dentist having to extract a pocket of pus from beneath the tooth and close the large wound with seven dissolving sutures.

He additionally conducted a dental procedure on the opposing upper canine tooth, which was discovered to have a similar issue.

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

She said the staff had spotted "a minor swelling on Lira's jawline" but it had been difficult to determine "the extent of the problem."

"Lira 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," added the curator.

This vital operation marks a major milestone in Lira's recovery after her arrival from the conflict area.