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A Wildlife Rescue Center

An adolescent lioness saved from war-torn Ukraine has received critical oral operation to extract a severely infected fang resulting from an infection.

The lioness arrived at a wildlife sanctuary in Kent, England on 14 March after 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 Friday by dentist an experienced animal dentist, who has cared for hundreds of large felines.

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

He believed the dental issue was due to a injury experienced over twelve months back, causing bacteria producing harmful substances inside the tooth.

"The approach I follow is non-human oral health issues need to be treated in the most predictable, the least invasive and most secure manner," he said.

The expert explained that as the lioness no longer required to catch prey, extraction was the most "logical and humane option."

The Animal Rescue Facility

The rescue center reported the extracted tooth was 8cm (3.14 inches) long, with the dentist having to extract a pocket of pus from under the fang and close the significant opening with multiple absorbable stitches.

He also performed a dental procedure on the opposing upper canine tooth, which was also found to be infected.

The curator, manager at the facility, said the procedure was a "total triumph."

She noted the staff had spotted "a small lump on Lira's jawline" but it had been difficult to assess "how serious the condition was."

"The lioness will be somewhat sore to begin with, but now that the infectious materials are removed from her system, she will start to feel much better over the coming days," commented the curator.

The successful surgery marks a significant step in Lira's recovery after her rescue from Ukraine.