Lion Gets Root Canal In Kansas Zoo (VIDEO)

Root canals are hard on the patient. But if the patient is a lion, the root canal is perhaps even harder on the dentist.

Mumbasa, an African lion at the Brit Spaugh Zoo in Kansas, grabbed onto his fence and chipped an inch-long tooth on Friday night. According to NBC News, time was of the essence, as zookeepers had 48 hours to save Mumbasa's tooth before the lion would lose it for good. Zookeepers quickly assembled a team and successfully performed the procedure on Monday morning.

The zoo is working to obtain industry accreditation, which could be monetarily beneficial to it. According to the Association of Zoos & Aquariums, accredited zoos are distinguished from "roadside zoos" by meeting "high professional standards" that zoo visitors can trust. Many zoos have fallen under public scrutiny for the mistreatment of their animals. The Chinese government has recently issued a zoo animal abuse ban which prohibits the sale of animal parts, pulling the teeth of tiger cubs for public handling, and paid cat attacks. Some argue that zoos are guilty of mistreatment even when they do not physically abuse animals. Locking a wild animal in a small cage for human entertainment is a hotly contested issue.

As for Mumbasa, it appears that he was well taken care of -- but should he be in this zoo environment where he was biting on his enclosure in the first place?

WATCH the lion's root canal:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Comments

[p123sweeney]

03:53 PM on 02/15/2011

great article for pet and human dental heath month.. many cancers are associated with periodontal disease and the number one female cancer mortality in the US is breast cancer and this month a long term study of over 3000 women found an association between periodontal disease and breast cancer for the first time. Other cancers with a perio association is head and neck, pancrease, gastrointestinal,kidney,lung. the bottom line is put your money where your mouth is. here is a recent tweet from ppierodds

ppierodds
#womens health ... #breast cancer associated with #periodontal disease http://tinyurl.com/4k4yv66 plz retweet
9 Feb

[Dewts]

11:18 AM on 02/15/2011

i need a root canal too :(

[SoylentGreenIsPeople]

11:13 AM on 02/15/2011

My veterinarian charges $400 just to CLEAN the teeth of a domestic cat.