Disfigured bear cub saved by expert vet team

A bear with a monstrously enlarged tongue has been given a new lease of life after UK vets flew out to Myanmar to amputate it. Vet Heather Bacon, from the University of Edinburgh’s Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, and Romain Pizzi from Wildlife Surgery International completed the operation earlier this month, removing three kilogrammes of tissue. Caroline Nelson, a veterinary nurse at the Animals Asia Bear Rescue Centre in Vietnam has confirmed the bear is now eating and playing as normal. The team believe the swelling may have been caused by the mosquito-transmitted infection elephantiasis. The procedure was supported by charities the Winton Foundation for the Welfare of Bears and Free the Bears.
Source: Veterinary Record - Category: Veterinary Research Tags: News section Source Type: research