OPERATION ON A LION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18674, 2 October 1922, Page 6

OPERATION ON A LION

A zoological vet. has a far harder, though undoubtedly more fascinating, occupation than an ordinary surgeon (observes the Weekly telegraph). Of course, the. man who looks after the health of one type of beast is not necessarily efficient in dealing with the maladies of other kinds. However, oe he the lion s doctor or the lizard’s, he experiences untold difficulties, and often wastes days in performing a simple operation on the creature. A lioness in an Italian menagerie had been known to suffer from a cataract. It was decided to attempt an operation. Administering an anaesthetic was, to begin with, no easy matter. The baus of the cage wore Ailed with rvadding, and a quantity of gauze impregnated with chloroform was thrown into the cage. This took fairly prompt effect, for in a quarter of on hour the immense patient was seen stretched out as if dead. It was fairly simple to drag her out, bind and gag her, then place her on the operating platform. But it takes a great, deal to overcome for long the sensibilities of such a powerful brute, and no sooner did everything seem ready than it awoke, and struggled so frantically' to release itself that it fell to the ground. Fear for personal safety naturally gripped those around, but with commendable pluck they managed to hold her down while a towel saturated in sulphuric ether was wrapped round her head. Until this took effect it seemed as if the lioness, rapidly freeing herself from her bonds, would escape or attack. To prevent desperate possibilities she was immediately dragged back into the cage and subjected to a second dose of chloroform. This enabled her head to be pulled through the door and be fastened down. The operation, ot last concluded by the professor in charge, proved a brilliant success—though a perspiring one.