Jaw fracture in lion cub repaired by surgery

Rajkot: In one of the rare surgeries among felines, a fracture in the jaw of a three-month-old lion cub was healed by doctors at the Junagadh Veterinary College Hospital with the help of Jasadhar Animal Care Centre of the forest department.
The cub was rescued by the forest department from the Paniya range of the Gir-east division last week. “The cub had suffered injuries in the jaw which came to the knowledge of the field staff. Doctors at Jasadhar diagnosed a fracture in the jaw which required surgery. The cub was taken to Junagadh Veterinary College Hospital,” said Rajdeepsinh Jhala deputy conservator of forest, Gir-east division.
Doctors said that they have performed such surgeries on a few adult lions, but this was a rare one in a cub. The reason for the jaw fracture could be injured during infighting, getting trapped in a snare by some hunters who are on the lookout for small animals or encountering fencing.
The doctors fitted wiring in the jaw and the operation took around three hours. The cub will remain under the observation of the veterinary doctors at Jasadhar center for the next one-and-a-half months. However, it is not able to chew any meat because of the fracture.
Talking to TOI, Dr. Vaibhavsinh Dodiya at Jasadhar Animal Care Centre said, “We have to feed the cub with crushed mutton and eggs in a liquid form.”
The cub would be given hard food gradually as the jaw condition improves and it would be released in the forest after complete healing.