Pouakai Zoo lion operation

Chlidonias · 19 Mar 2011

its not often we hear news from Pouakai, so here's a little bit I just found from yesterday:
'Greedy guts' lion on mend after op | Stuff.co.nz

We all know the story of the lion with a thorn stuck in its paw but the tale of a Taranaki lioness with a stone in its stomach is unheard of – until now.

Pouakai Zoo's six year-old lioness Leah may start chewing her food a bit more slowly after she swallowed a stone garnish with her horse meat breakfast last month.

The pride of Pouakai Zoo's lions are fed on a daily basis but in mid-February, when Leah abstained from her favourite meal for more than a week, zoo keepers became worried.

Zoo co-manager Fiona Carson said Leah was usually never short on appetite.

"She wasn't eating which was very unusual because she's the greedy guts," Miss Carson said.

She still had not eaten after 10 days so zoo owner Bart Hartley decided to take action, seeking advice from Rotorua's Paradise Valley Springs, the lions' original home.

"They've done quite a few operations over the years and it's not like there's anyone in Taranaki that you can ask."

With a better understanding of how to treat a sick lion, Mr Hartley called in the Stratford branch of the Taranaki Vet Centre late last month.

They chose not to use a dart gun to sedate her because they were considered dangerous, he said.

"We try to avoid them at all costs."

Instead Leah had to be coerced into the lions' den so she could be knocked out with a blow dart.

That process took a few days, he said.

When surgery finally got under way they soon discovered a sizeable rock in her intestines.

Mr Hartley had a feeling there had been something stuck in her stomach, he said.

"I didn't think it would be a stone; I thought it would be a bone.

"The vets said if we left it a few more days it would have killed her," he said.

Stratford Vets were extremely proficient, Miss Carson said.

"Considering Stratford Vets had never, ever worked on a lion before they were just fantastic."

On the day of the operation three vets showed up with two ute-loads of equipment.

One nurse had to hold back Leah's rib cage back for a whole hour, she said. "Her arms must have been killing her."

Part of Leah's stomach had to be removed and it was several days before she could eat again.

Following the surgery she spent a few days alone in the den.

Leah was now "totally back to normal" and the diet had done her no harm. "She was the fattest lion anyway," Miss Carson said.
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Axl · 20 Mar 2011

Good to hear Leah's doing okay now, she was a beuatiful cub when I met at paradise valley springs in early 2005.

Pouakai Zoo · 28 Mar 2011

Hi all,
Firstly Thank you for the Birthday wishes yesterday
if you google "Stratford Press" theres another story about Leahs operation from the Vets side (a good little read) I am not a computer wizz and didnt know how to put it on here
Leah is certainly back to her greedy self, yesterday she gave Aslan a 'slap' and pinched his piece of meat. We were very lucky to have great support from our local vet and so pleased to see Leah is 100% back to normal...apart from the shaved belly!
Thanks
Fiona @ Pouakai Zoo

Chlidonias · 28 Mar 2011

Pouakai Zoo said:

if you google "Stratford Press" theres another story about Leahs operation from the Vets side (a good little read) I am not a computer wizz and didnt know how to put it on here
Click to expand...

here it is: Vets take op in their stride - Local News - The Stratford Press

24 March 2011

TWO Stratford vets recently completed an operation that was a bit different from working on the usual cows, cats and dogs.

Scott Hughes and Craig Hassel of Taranaki Veterinary Centre were called away from such mundane tasks as performing pregnancy tests on cows last month to cut open an African lioness and remove a stone from her stomach.

The six-year-old lioness, called Leah, has been a resident at Pouakai Zoo Park near New Plymouth for the past four years.

Lions tend to eat their dinner rapidly, especially when other lions are nearby. Leah ate too fast, accidentally swallowing a 7cm x 3cm stone, which became lodged in her intestine.

Enter the Stratford vets. Scott spends 70% of his time working with small animals, many of them cats, so working on a big cat didn't faze him. With Craig as anaesthetist and their practice nurse Carol Williams as surgical nurse, the trio operated on Leah in her den, watched over by anxious park owner Bart Hartley.

``The operation was quite different. It was similar to working on a domestic cat but the level of anaesthesia administered was crucial. Too much would have been dangerous and too little could have meant her waking up. We definitely didn't want that.

Putting a hand down her mouth was a bit weird.

``Leah was getting sick. She would have died if we didn't operate.

``We had to remove about 12cm of her intestine but she handled it OK. We were a bit worried that we can't check her wound but she seems fine now and has her ravenous appetite back,'' he added.

Scott said he has worked on monkeys and alpacas in the past but operating on a full-grown lion was one of his more unusual career jobs.
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Pouakai Zoo lion operation

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