Surgery to help tiger, lion see better
The city zoo in Jaipur is getting ready for cataract operations on two very special guests - a lion and a tiger!
The city zoo is getting ready for cataract operations on two very special guests - a lion and a tiger!
"The operation theatre is ready for them and the surgery is expected to take place Wednesday or Thursday," a senior zoo official told IANS.
"A team of doctors from Rajasthan as well as Chennai (Tamil Nadu) have examined the animals and will implant imported lenses on the animals."
The tiger has already been brought from Jodhpur while the lion, Raja, has been shifted from the Nahargarh rescue centre on the outskirts of this city to the zoo. Nahargarh has a rescue centre where animals freed from circuses are kept.
"These animals were brought to the zoo a few days before the surgery as we wanted them to get acclimatised to the new surroundings," he said.
"After detailed examination of these two animals, we found that they suffer from cataract and because of that they are not able to see perfectly," said M.S. Chaudhary, veterinary officer of Jaipur Zoo.
The decision to operate on these animals was taken after Rajasthan's Minister of Forest and Environment L.N. Dave took interest in the case and wanted the zoo authorities to implant lenses.
This will probably be the second time that cataract surgery will be performed on a tiger - the first having taken place at the Delhi zoo some years ago, zoo officials said.
"The complete operation should take over an hour or so. The animals will be given general anaesthesia," Chaudhary said.
Their well-wishers are hoping that both Raja and the tiger will be able to see the world better after the surgeries.
