Sumatran tiger makes 'purr-fect' recovery after dental surgery

A nine-year-old rare Sumatran tiger at an animal park in the UK has successfully undergone a dental procedure.

Amir needed fillings on three chipped front teeth to prevent any future pain.

He was sedated at Howletts Wild Animal Park in Kent and taken to the on-site hospital for treatment by moggy molar expert Peter Kertesz.

Park vet Jane Hopper said Amir has made a 'purr-fect' recovery, but would keep an eye on him over the next few weeks, the BBC reported.

Experts said it was a difficult procedure because the tooth's root could be six times longer in a tiger than a human.
 

"Although the broken teeth weren't causing him any discomfort, we knew that a filling would be the best course of action to prevent any deterioration," Ben Warren, head of the carnivore section at the park, near Canterbury, said.