A LOCAL veterinary surgery got up close and personal with the king of the jungle recently, when one of Longleat’s lions checked in for a dental appointment.
Garston Vets welcomed one of its more unusual patients last month, after keepers discovered that the female lion, named Little Jas, had a crack in one of her front teeth.
The vets and the park’s carnivore team sedated Little Jas in order to examine her mouth and to try and prevent infection. The big cat was then taken to Garston’s in Frome, where the tooth was removed.
Longleat spokesman Steve Mytton said, “Despite having one less tooth, the procedure appears to have been a resounding success on Little Jas. She has been back out with the rest of the pride and happily behaving and, of course, eating food as normal.”
Longleat’s Safari Park is famous for its lions, and the attraction uses an image of the animal’s head as its logo. The drive-through park opened in 1966 when it became the first one to exist outside of Africa.