Rescued bear less grizzly after tooth surgery

7 hours ago

Kate ReltonSouth East

Fluff is recovering well from the dental treatment and is back with brother Scruff

Wildwood Trust A brown bear, submerged in water up to its shoulders. It is looking at the camera and has its mouth open. — Fluff is recovering well from the dental treatment and is back with brother Scruff

A rescued bear has had more than five hours of dental treatment to remove a bad tooth, which his keepers say has stopped him behaving "like a bear with a sore head".

Fluff, a 27-year-old European brown bear who weighs more than 200kg (31 stone), was put under general anaesthetic for the procedure, much to the relief of specialist dentist Gerhard Putter who assessed the bear, carried out x-rays and removed the damaged tooth.

Fluff and his brother Scruff were rescued from an abandoned breeding facility in Bulgaria by the Wildwood Trust in 2014 and now live at the charity's centre in Kent with younger bear, Boki.

The Trust said he has recovered well after his surgery and is playing again with the other bears.

The procedure took five hours, including a full dental examination, X-rays, and the removal of a broken tooth

Harding-Lee-Media A brown bear undergoing dental treatment. The dentist is wearing a grey shirt, latex gloves, and glasses with a headtorch. He is holding a syringe in the bear's mouth.
The bear has a tube in his mouth, and the back of a person's head is visible in the foreground, while another person stands behind the bear. — The procedure took five hours, including a full dental examination, X-rays, and the removal of a broken tooth

Wildwood's head of bears Jon Forde said the treatment seems to have made a "real difference" to Fluff's quality of life.

"There's a saying about being like a bear with a sore head - it feels like we've just removed the sore head," he said.

"Since the procedure we've seen Fluff and Scruff playing together in the dens again, which is something we haven't seen for a long time.

"The dens are usually somewhere they tolerate each other rather than somewhere they choose to play, so seeing them messing around together was really encouraging.

"It's still early days and we don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but all the signs so far suggest the treatment has made a real difference."

Wildwood's youngest bear, Boki, had brain surgery as a cub

Dave Butcher/Wildwood Trust a close-up of a bear, looking at the camera — Wildwood's youngest bear, Boki, had brain surgery as a cub

Fluff and Scruff spent the first 15 years of their lives in tiny concrete pits at a Bulgarian facility, where the animals were kept to be shot for sport.

Thanks to a fundraising campaign supported by Wildwood's supporters, the bears began their new lives after travelling more than 1,600 miles to Kent.

The pair continue to live with the long-term effects of the neglect and poor nutrition they experienced before being rescued, making ongoing veterinary care an important part of their long-term welfare, the Trust said.

The success of Fluff and Scruff's rehabilitation helped establish Wildwood as a leading centre for brown bear rescue and rehabilitation, with the charity going on to provide sanctuary and specialist care for other rescued bears from across Europe.

Boki arrived at Wildwood in 2022 after being rejected by his mother and hand-reared by keepers.

The youngest of the three bears at Wildwood, he underwent pioneering brain surgery as a cub and has gone on to make a remarkable recovery.

Follow BBC Kent on Facebook, X, and on Instagram, and listen to BBC Radio Kent on Sounds. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.