[title]
If you have a cat, you know how difficult it is to get them to the vet. Now imagine your fluffy friend was forty times heavier, and that’s what staff at London Zoo had to work with. Endangered Asiatic lion Bhanu weighs 28-stone, and on Monday it took six people to lift him up onto a scanner to investigate his painful earache.
The 12-year-old lion has had persistent issues with his left ear canal despite various efforts to get him healthy, including regular ear drops, specialist consultations, and having his ear canals cleaned under general anaesthetic. Bhanu is a vital member of the European-wide breeding programme for Endangered Asiatic lions, so the ZSL team wanted the best possible treatment for him and transported a CAT scan to a big cat for the first time to avoid him having to travel.
Bhanu was sedated in his den before being taken to the mobile CAT scanner on a flatbed truck escorted by zookeepers and vets. Six zoo staff then carefully lifted the sleepy 180kg lion into position before Australian diagnostic imaging specialist David Reese rapidly diagnosed the problem via video link. Although there had been some worry regarding potential tumours or deep-seated infections, the big cat just has a very narrow left ear canal that makes him more susceptible to infections and blockages, and after a thorough ear cleaning, he was taken back home to the Land of the Lions to wake up from his cat nap.
Vets have developed a long-term treatment plan for Bhanu, involving regular oral medication to reduce inflammation in his ear canal, anti-fungals for infections, and regular ear cleanings during his annual check ups. With all those teeth, just be glad it’s not you cleaning the ears of the King of the Jungle.
The Museum of London is leaving, but not without a party.
Oxford Circus will soon be home to Europe's biggest axe-throwing space.