Category
🐳
AnimalsTranscript
00:00 It's 11 a.m.
00:02 Nine-year-old cheetah Kinky Tail has arrived at the zoo's vet center for tests.
00:07 She's been throwing up food and losing weight. Today the staff at Chester hope to discover why.
00:15 Kinky Tail will be anaesthetized for the two-hour procedure.
00:21 Putting any animal under anaesthetic is risky, and it's something that we only do if we think is really necessary.
00:29 Obviously you worry because she's older and we don't really know what we're gonna find and you know,
00:36 can only hope that it's something that we can fix and it's nothing awful.
00:41 Cheetahs are potentially dangerous animals, you know, they're big cats, so we have to make sure that she's anaesthetized when we're working with her.
00:52 Hopefully an animal won't wake up unexpectedly.
00:57 But if they do, they don't know where they are and they can become quite aggressive.
01:02 So if Kinky Tail wakes up, the majority of us will have to leave the room
01:06 quite quickly.
01:09 Although keepers Dana and Rachel work with cheetahs every day, they rarely get this close to them.
01:17 During the procedure, it's quite surreal being in there with them.
01:23 It's quite overwhelming, I think, and you do get to see them up close and they look massive
01:30 when they're just there in front of you.
01:33 Let's start with the x-rays.
01:35 X-rays and blood samples are taken.
01:39 I've had a look on the x-ray, there's no sign of any problems there.
01:44 An ultrasound also proves inconclusive.
01:51 So the Chester vets turn to a team of specialists.
01:54 Cheetah anatomy and physiology is the same as a domestic cat's, so
02:01 that's why we've got some specialists in from the local university.
02:06 They'll be doing the camera work with the endoscope because they do that every day on domestic cats and dogs.
02:12 Endoscopy involves putting a camera down the esophagus,
02:18 the food pipe, and sort of having a look at the lining of the esophagus and the stomach.
02:24 Immediately we could tell that it was not right in Kinky Tail.
02:34 The stomach was more reddened than it would normally be, more bumpy, so we knew immediately that this was
02:41 certainly contributing to her vomiting.
02:46 A biopsy is taken from Kinky Tail's stomach to determine if it is infected or a possible tumour.
02:52 It can be difficult because obviously you're always that concerned that there is something more serious going on and
03:01 you're worried that it might turn out not to be the nicest of endings.
03:06 Obviously if anything happens to Kinky Tail I'll be devastated, so I just try to stay positive.
03:14 The anaesthetic will wear off within the hour,
03:17 but it will be several days before the keepers discover the full results of the tests.
03:22 But it will be several days before the keepers discover the full results of the tests.
03:26 Okay.
03:29 [vomiting]
03:31 [vomiting]
03:33 [silence]
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