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A Wildlife Rescue Center

An adolescent female lion saved from war-torn the war zone has undergone vital oral operation to extract a badly decayed canine tooth resulting from an abscess.

Lira arrived at The Big Cat Sanctuary in Smarden, Kent on March 14 following a fundraising effort by managing director the sanctuary's leader, who raised £500,000 to fund her and four other rescued lions.

The Big Cat Sanctuary

The procedure was performed on Friday by dentist Peter Kertesz, who has cared for hundreds of large felines.

"Upon inspecting Lira's jaw and mouth, I could see immediately the damaged fang was severely infected," said Mr Kertesz.

He thought the dental issue was due to a trauma sustained more than a year ago, causing germs producing toxins within the fang.

"The approach I follow is non-human oral health issues should be addressed in the most predictable, the most conservative and most secure manner," he explained.

The expert clarified that as Lira did not need to catch prey, extraction was the most "logical and humane option."

The Big Cat Sanctuary

The sanctuary said the removed fang was 3.14 inches in length, with the dentist having to extract a accumulated infection from under the fang and seal the significant opening with seven dissolving sutures.

He additionally conducted a dental procedure on the opposing upper canine tooth, which was discovered to have a similar issue.

Briony Smith, manager at the facility, declared the procedure was a "total triumph."

She noted the staff had observed "a minor swelling on the lioness's face" but it had been difficult to determine "the extent of the problem."

"The lioness 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.