A brown bear that underwent brain surgery in a first of its kind operation in the UK is doing well, but is “not out the woods” yet.
Boki, a two-year-old brown bear at Wildwood Trust, near Canterbury, Kent, suffered from hydrocephalus, a build-up of fluid in the brain.
It triggered seizures – and other health issues – before the bear underwent surgery earlier in the week.
Sky News science correspondent Thomas Moore was there as the patient went under, ahead of the operation.
In an update on Thursday, the Wildwood Trust said that Boki was “awake and is doing as well as can be expected”.
“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 and they are happy with his recovery so far,” they said in a statement.
“The team at Wildwood will continue to monitor him closely to make sure he is responding to treatment.”
Boki started having seizures and vision problems five months ago.
Initial attempts to solve the problem with drugs became less effective and his quality of life was being impaired.
The veterinary team feared that if they did not operate before he went into torpor – a winter dormancy similar to hibernation – he may not wake up in the spring.
Specialist wildlife veterinary surgeon Romain Pizzi carried out the surgery.
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Speaking after the operation, Dr Pizzi said: “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.
“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.”
Jon Forde, head of bears at Wildwood, called Boki “unique”.
“He’s such a lovely animal. He’s unique. I’ve been a zookeeper for 15 years and there’s no-one else like him,” he said.
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The conservation charity said it was fundraising for Boki’s surgery and aftercare costs, which it expects to be around £20,000.
