Bear 'not out the woods' after brain surgery

A brown bear that underwent brain surgery in the first operation of its kind in the UK is doing well, but "not out of the woods" yet, said the charity caring for him.

Boki, a brown bear at Wildwood Trust near Canterbury, Kent, went under the knife on Wednesday in an operation that took five and a half hours - rather than the expected two and a half hours.

He had the operation after an MRI scan in Surrey revealed he had hydrocephalus, a build-up of fluid in the brain.

The two-year-old bear, who had been suffering from seizures and related health issues, is awake and said to be doing well following the special surgery.

The Wildwood Trust said: "We are very pleased to report that Boki is awake and is doing as well as can be expected following his brain surgery yesterday.

"We are, of course, not out of the woods but he has been checked over this morning by Romain Pizzi and our vet, Elliott Simpson-Brown, from IZVG and they are happy with his recovery so far.

"The team at Wildwood will continue to monitor him closely to make sure he is responding to treatment."

Specialist wildlife veterinary surgeon Dr Pizzi carried out the surgery, which aimed to drain fluid from the bear's brain, at Wildwood Trust.

After the surgery, Dr Pizzi said: "He was a little bit sorry for himself, and any animal is going to have a little discomfort after an op, but he is bright and alert and very mentally active and he is taking his medication. So far so good."

Jon Forde, who is head of bears at Wildwood, called Boki a "unique" bear.

"He is such a lovely animal. He is unique. I've been a zookeeper for 15 years and there is no one else like him," he said.

Follow BBC Kent on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.