Hertfordshire Zoo’s male Asiatic lion, Sahee, is making a full recovery after successfully undergoing a delicate veterinary procedure to fix an ongoing issue with his eyelid.
The 10-year-old lion, weighing an impressive 167kg, underwent the specialist operation on Thursday 14th August after the zoo’s expert keeping team had identified that an old injury was causing persistent irritation and discomfort to his eye.
Several years ago, Sahee sustained an injury to his eyelid which, despite initial healing, caused the eyelid to turn slightly inwards. As a result, hairs along the eyelid were continuously rubbing against the surface of his eye, scratching the cornea.
To resolve the issue, Hertfordshire Zoo brought in specialist veterinary ophthalmologist Dr David Williams, Associate Lecturer in Veterinary Ophthalmology at the University of Cambridge. During the operation, Dr Williams carefully removed a small section of Sahee’s eyelid, repositioning it so the hairs no longer touched his cornea. Dr David Williams commented: “This was a fairly simple procedure; the only difficulty was doing it in a lion, and not your regular moggy!”.
Because opportunities to safely examine a fully grown Asiatic lion under anaesthetic are extremely rare, the veterinary team used the time to conduct a comprehensive health check. The team gathered blood samples, took swabs, and carried out X-rays to obtain valuable data on Sahee’s overall health, avoiding the need for future anaesthesia.
Tyler Whitnall, Managing Director at Hertfordshire Zoo, commented: Sahee’s well-being is always our top priority. Although the eye procedure itself was relatively simple, putting a large animal like Sahee under anaesthetic is not a decision we take lightly, as it is not without risk. We therefore took the opportunity to carry out a full health check while he was safely asleep. Sahee and our female Asiatic lion Sonika are an incredibly important pairing within the international breeding programme, helping to safeguard the future of this species, so we’re delighted that he is recovering well”.
Following the successful surgery, the anaesthetic was reversed and Sahee woke under the close supervision of the veterinary and keeping teams. He has since been reunited with Sonika, in the zoo’s Lions of India habitat and has made a full recovery, with his eye healing well.
With only a small population of Asiatic lions remaining in the wild, coordinated initiatives such as the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP) are critical to maintaining a healthy, genetically diverse population in human care. Every visit to Hertfordshire Zoo directly supports the zoo’s commitment to providing high-standard animal care and essential global conservation work. Book your tickets today via hertfordshirezoo.com.
