14/02/12. ..A vet works carefully to carry out a full medical on a tiger who could wake up at any minute. ..John Lewis, uses a dart, loaded with enou
14/02/12. ..A vet works carefully to carry out a full medical on a tiger who could wake up at any minute. ..John Lewis, uses a dart, loaded with enough anaesthetic that should knock out the 90 kilo cat for forty , Kelabu, the four-year-old Sumatran Tiger, could wake up at any time as she has her annual health-check at Chessington Zoo in Surrey. ..Vet, John Lewis, 59, who warned the photographer not to stand behind the tiger - just in case it came round - said: "We're very careful to keep an eye on the cat throughout. We look for signs of it stirring - if it starts blinking its eyes, moving it's tongue or tail excessively it could wake up. Being bitten is a serious risk. .."It would be extremely rare for the tiger to wake up. If it does begin to come round we can give it gas - we needed to give this one a couple of breaths of gas today just to keep her under a bit longer. .."I've never been bitten - I've still got all my fingers and don't have any scars on my "We have to check the cats' health this way as they are very good at disguising any problems they may "We give them a full physical examination, paying particular attention to their teeth, joints, claws, ears and "We also feel for tumours and take blood samples to check their general health, and check their white blood count to screen for leukemia."..Keeper, John Merrington said: "Whilst we work with the cats everyday and have watched Kelabu grow up there are things we cannot check, for obvious reasons, that's where these annual vet visits come in. Should anything be picked up we can treat the animals before it becomes a problem." ... .All Rights Reserved - F Stop Press - T: +44 (0)1335 copyright law applies to all print & online usage. Fees charged will comply with standard space rates and usage for that country, region or
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Keywords: adventures, chessington, fsp, fstoppress, medical, picture, pictureitnow, pin., press, resort, standalone, stop, tiger, vet, world
