Boki the bear emerges healthy after brain surgery

A brown bear which had life-saving brain surgery last October has emerged from semi-hibernation "looking happy and healthy", his keepers have said.

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

The operation took nearly six hours, with surgeons fitting a stent between his brain and abdomen to help him pass the excess fluid.

Jon Forde, head of bears at Wildwood, said although Boki had made a "remarkable recovery it was "still early days".

"He's looking brilliant, happy and healthy and we haven't seen any negative signs from him.

"All his personality traits are still there, he's the same old Boki we love," he said.

Mr Forde said Boki "did well" for his first ever hibernation but lost about 30kg (66 pounds).

"We think it's because he's grown while he was asleep, so a lot of energy has been used for that.

"Our first job will be to put some weight back on him," he explained.

Boki was adopted from Port Lympne Wild Animal Reserve in December 2022 after he was rejected by his mother.

Once he arrived at Wildwood, staff members helped him learn bear behaviours and integrated him with the trust's two adult bears, Fluff and Scruff.

Mark Habben, head of zoo operations, described Boki's recovery as a "remarkable transformation".

"He's back to being the Boki we first met. It's like he's forgotten that he even had an operation," he said.

"While the signs are very positive, we still need to proceed with caution and to take care with re-introducing him to Fluff and Scruff.

"This will involve boisterous play, which we want to minimise in these early stages post-surgery."

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