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A Wildlife Rescue Center

An adolescent female lion rescued from war-torn the war zone has received critical dental surgery to remove a severely infected fang resulting from an infection.

The lioness was brought to The Big Cat Sanctuary in Smarden, Kent on 14 March following a fundraising effort by managing director Cam Whitnall, who collected £500,000 to support her and several other lions from Ukraine.

The Big Cat Sanctuary

The procedure was performed on last week by veterinary dentist an experienced animal dentist, who has cared for hundreds of large felines.

"Upon inspecting Lira's jaw and mouth, I could see right away the broken tooth was severely infected," said Mr Kertesz.

He thought the dental issue was caused by a trauma experienced more than a year ago, causing bacteria creating harmful substances inside the tooth.

"My philosophy is non-human dental problems should be addressed in the most predictable, the most conservative and safest way," he explained.

Mr Kertesz explained that as the lioness did not need to hunt for food, removal was the most "sensible and ethical solution."

The Animal Rescue Facility

The sanctuary reported the extracted tooth was 8cm (3.14 inches) long, with the dentist having to remove a pocket of pus from beneath the tooth and seal the large wound with multiple absorbable stitches.

He also performed a dental procedure on the corresponding top fang, which was also found to be infected.

The curator, manager at the facility, declared the procedure was a "complete success."

She said the staff had observed "a small lump on the lioness's face" but it had been impossible to assess "the extent of the problem."

"Lira will be somewhat sore to initially, but now that the infectious materials are out of her body, she will start to feel much better over the coming days," commented the curator.

This vital operation marks a major milestone in Lira's recovery after her rescue from Ukraine.