Dental check for Zoo's sun bear

Dental check for Zoo's sun bear

Sean, Wellington Zoo's male Malayan sun bear, will go under the knife at 1020am this Friday, 2 May, so that Zoo Vets can biopsy ulcers in his mouth, Manager Conservation and Veterinary Science Dr. Katja Geschke announced today.

'On Friday we are going to put Sean under a general anaesthetic in order to examine a couple of mouth ulcers that are causing him discomfort.'

'Kelburn Vet Centre, who are the on call vets for the Zoo, will be bringing their special animal dental machinery and will be cleaning Sean's teeth. Then our veterinary resident from Massey University will biopsy the ulcers and conduct a thorough health check on Sean to make sure everything else is working as it should.'

'Having bad teeth is common in bears, as it is in dogs, we need to check the bears teeth every now and then to make sure that their teeth are in good condition and to give them a good clean.'

'Hopefully this will be the last time we check Sean's teeth in our existing hospital, construction on the new Wellington Zoo Conservation Hospital is due to start next month and in future, Zoo visitors will be able to watch us perform procedures like this,'said Katja.

ENDS

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