Djembe, a 16-year-old lioness at Wellington Zoo, has undergone a four-hour operation to have a root canal performed on a lower canine.
A team of 20 people were involved in the operation on the 140 kilogram cat.
Vet Sarah Alexander said it was a little more complicated than usual because it was hard to get the material out of the 11-centimetre long tooth before it could be filled.
“She is a dangerous animal and dangerous animals have the potential to cause real havoc during their procedures,” Dr Alexander said.
“Djembe is one of our feistier lionesses, so she’s generally not overly happy to see us at the vet department. As much as we love her, she doesn’t necessarily feel the same about us,” Dr Alexander said.
Djembe is one of three lioness sisters in Wellington, which were born at Auckland Zoo.
19 Responses
??? get well Djembe
wow
Oh no
how great!!
that is so sad):
Djembe… hopefully she won’t be the next harambe!
protect and serve
Keep going Djembe 🙂
so sad. go animal
Get well soon Djembe
Go GIRL ?
I love how you are teaching kids about how you do dentist appointments with tigers and lions
THAT WAS VERY VERY SAD NEWS
DID THE CUTE LION DIE?
Get better soon! We wish you well Djembe!
From the SCP containment
wish you good luck on your operation djembe
Amazing
get well
THAT WAS VERY VERY SAD NEWS
how did that happen