The animal conservation park has operated on the male lion for a bothersome injury to one of his claws. His progress is excellent and he is now recovering with the rest of the pride in his outdoor enclosure on the savannah.

Maintaining more than 1000 people in optimal health 6.000 animals of 150 species different, avoiding the disease as much as possible is the challenge that the BIOPARC Valencia technical team faces every day.

The procedure is based on the scientific criteria at preventive veterinary medicine, which involves a multitude of areas of action, from excellent nutrition to vaccination and deworming guidelines or routine checks. These actions would be the usual ones, but in the case of wild animals and, especially, extremely dangerous ones, the training protocols medical are vital as they allow these actions to be carried out and even fundamental aspects such as taking samples in a non-invasive manner.

Preventive health protocols and animal care techniques such as veterinary training are essential to ensure maximum well-being in wild and potentially dangerous species.

Thanks to all this previous work An intervention in Lubango has been carried out successfully, the male of African Lion (Panthera leo bleyenberghi) 8 years old that is part of the pack that BIOPARC Valencia houses with the females Shanga, Luana and Tata. Although it was a minor injury, with the daily reviews of animal care equipment This circumstance could be detected early on in order to resolve it before it caused serious problems.

The rapid and effective intervention was crucial to relieve the lion's pain., caused by a wound on his right paw due to overgrowth of the claws. This problem, similar to that which occurs in domestic cats, can injure the pad of the toe, as in the case of Lubango.

To prevent this from happening, BIOPARC lions have numerous trunks to scratch and wear down their nails, but in exceptional cases it is necessary to intervene. It has been necessary to anesthetic procedure to remove it, cut it off and properly heal the deep ulcer to thwart any very long-term problems.

BIOPARC's approach is enhance the innate behavior of different species and, at the same time, ensure the necessary handling to guarantee their health and maximum well-being. Even in the case of animals born in a protected environment, their wild behaviour remains and in the case of highly dangerous species the risk is immense.

La Positive response to veterinary training has greatly facilitated the entire process minimizing animal stress and also of the females, since the performance takes place in the interior enclosures while they are in the outdoor facility.

Video: BIOPARC Valencia successfully intervenes on the imposing lion Lubango.

Lubango He voluntarily lies down and “lets himself be pricked” through protected contact with personnel, which allows for the safe administration of medication and, in this case, inoculation of the narcotic. By eliminating any moments of tension prior to the operation, anesthesia times are shortened. and once the effect of the drugs has been checked and it has been confirmed that the animal is in a sufficiently deep plane, the animal care manager and the veterinary staff enter with the lion.

The staff protection regulations are very strict and each step is rigorously followed, taking into account that it is a “code red” species.

The professional team uses all the necessary elements such as the respiratory tract with a hand mask for the anesthetic gas, intubation and intravenous line. Apart from solving the problem of the claw, they took advantage of the opportunity to deeply heal and disinfect some small wounds on the tail, for which they use an antibiotic and antiseptic spray that is very striking because it is blue in color.

The recovery has been great and the imposing lion is now with the females in the outdoor installation that recreates the recognizable kopjes of the African savannah at BIOPARC.