A brown bear underwent brain surgery in the UK this week, the BBC reports.
The bear, named Boki, was suffering from seizures and showed fluid in his brain, a disorder called hydrocephalus. To help with the issue, Boki went under the knife for the first operation of its kind in the UK, and he is apparently now awake and well.
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The purpose of the surgery was to drain fluid from the bear’s brain and hopefully eliminate the symptoms it was causing. The operation itself occurred at Wildwood Trust, a wildlife park in Kent.
“We are very pleased to report that Boki is awake and is doing as well as can be expected following his brain surgery yesterday,” said the Wildwood Trust in a statement. “We are, of course, not out of the woods but he has been checked over this morning by Romain Pizzi and our vet, Elliott Simpson-Brown, from IZVG (International Zoo Veterinary Group) and they are happy with his recovery so far.”
Boki was adopted by Wildwood in December 2022 after being rejected by his mother and hand-reared at Port Lympne. At Wildwood, Boki was introduced to two other bears, Fluff and Scruff, who accepted him as a little brother. Like many rescued bears, though, he suffered medical issues possibly related to poor prior living conditions and trauma. The Wildwood Trust plans to keep a close eye on Boki, monitoring him to ensure he responds well to treatment.
This is the first time this type of surgery has been pursued in the UK. However, Pizzi, the specialist wildlife veterinary surgeon who carried out the operation, was previously the first to perform a similar operation on a black bear in Asia. So, he did at least have some prior experience.
Thankfully, Pizzi said that Boki was recovering well.
“You’re always a little bit nervous when you come in a day after an unusual or big operation, and there’s a lot that could have given us problems with Boki, but the good news is he’s actually doing really well this morning,” Pizzi said. “He was a little bit sorry for himself, and any animal is going to have a little discomfort after an op, but he’s bright and alert and very mentally active and he’s taking his medication. So far so good.”
