Bear and human canines differ in many ways. Not only in relation to the size of the other teeth, but also, for example, in the fact that they break off more often in polar bears. This is what happened to the polar bear Giovanna, who now had to be operated on on this canine tooth.
Even if the animal training in the zoo is designed to be able to carry out as many treatments as possible without anesthesia, dental treatment, especially with a polar bear, is not one of them. Giovanna was operated on under general anesthesia and the canine was removed from the already quite inflamed lower jaw. It is unclear why the canine tooth broke off, it is said from Hellabrunn.
“Preparing for such an operation requires a lot of planning, because the operation has to be played through as precisely as possible so that it can take place quickly and without complications,” says senior veterinarian Christine Gohl. Blood was taken from the animal in advance without anesthesia and it was also X-rayed, all as part of the training that the animals undergo daily with the keepers in Hellabrunn. A Plexiglas box was specially designed for the X-ray examination, into which Giovanna then pushed her head and held it still for a few seconds.
X-rays of an awake bear, according to the veterinarian Grohl, this is a first. The subsequent operation lasted three hours. In addition to the Hellabrunn veterinarians, a doctor from the LMU small animal clinic and the keepers from the polar world were also present. The day after the operation, the predator was immediately back in training with the keepers.