Huckleberry, a black bear at Big Bear Alpine Zoo, had four root canals and five teeth removed recently.
Animal dentist, Dr David Fagan, along with a team of volunteers, managed to X-ray Huckleberry, whilst he was under anaesthesia, and treat all of his oral health issues in a procedure that lasted four hours.
But that isn’t the only dental work that has been done at the zoo, according to www.bigbeargrizzly.net.
Cascade the mountain lion also had a dental procedure where his canines were replaced with titanium implants in a three-hour procedure.
‘We modified the existing water bath/basin to allow maximum space for full dental radiography and dental trays,’ Bob Cisneros, Big Bear Alpine Zoo curator, said.
‘Our zoo maintenance crew did an amazing job of constructing a table top that was both safe and effective.’
Bob continued: ‘We are well equipped at the zoo to meet the veterinary needs of the smaller animals in our collection.
‘The veterinary care of our larger animals becomes more complex, especially when those animals are compromised in some way.’
