Southwick Zoo tiger has ovaries removed

By Associated Press

NORTH GRAFTON — Massachusetts veterinarians have used laproscopic surgery to remove ovaries of an endangered Bengal tiger, marking one of the first instances an animal has been spayed using the minimally invasive procedure in New England.

Spokesman Tom Keppeler said on Wednesday that the 180-pound tiger named “Kya” is recovering well after surgery at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine’s Foster Hospital for Small Animals.

The 2-year-old tiger was spayed during a 90-minute procedure because its owner, Southwick’s Zoo in Mendon, does not plan to breed it.

The Cummings School recently began performing the minimally invasive procedure in an effort to reduce pain, damage to neighboring tissues and reduce complications. Vets remove only the animal’s ovaries, not the uterus as it happens in open surgery.
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