Brown bear recovering ‘remarkably well’ after brain surgery

A two-year-old brown bear that underwent pioneering brain surgery is recovering “remarkably well”, according to keepers.

Boki underwent the procedure at Wildwood Trust, near Canterbury, after an MRI scan in Surrey revealed he had hydrocephalus, a build-up of fluid in the brain.

Jon Forde, head of bears at the trust, said Boki’s “favourite” medicine was Calpol, a painkiller for children containing paracetamol.

He said: “Boki is recovering remarkably well. He still isn’t out of the woods and has a long way to go yet, but you can’t help but be amazed by how unfazed he is.”

Boki is receiving round-the-clock care from specialists following the surgery on 9 October by wildlife veterinary surgeon Romain Pizzi.

It was the first time the operation had been carried out in the UK after Dr Pizzi became the first surgeon to perform a similar operation on a black bear in Asia.

Mr Forde said staff had been impressed by Boki’s recovery so far.

“It is genuinely surprising to see how quickly he has returned to form over the last five days,” he said.

Mr Forde described the bear as “such a lovely animal”.

“He is unique,” he said. “I’ve been a zookeeper for 15 years and there is no one else like him.”

The conservation charity said it is fundraising for Boki’s surgery and immediate aftercare costs, which are expected to be around £20,000.