Seven-year-old Rabu does not like going to the dentist but after an important root canal procedure, Perth Zoo’s beloved popcorn-smelling bearcat will soon be back to feasting on his usual menu.
Rabu — who has previously mated with the zoo’s female binturong, producing offspring that have gone to other zoos — is getting older and that means his teeth require more attention due to general wear and tear.
NCA NewsWire was given an exclusive look at the intricate procedure, involving specialist dentists, on Friday.
Bearcats, also known as binturong, are known to smell like popcorn because of a molecule in their urine that’s also found in the snack.
Acting senior veterinarian Rebecca Vaughan-Higgins said staff at the zoo conducted general health examinations every couple of years and recently noticed something unusual with Rabu.
“When we were conducting one of those examinations we did note that he needed some further dental work, so we organised the specialist dentists to come in,” she said.
“We found we needed to do some further work and put in some root canal treatments.”
Dr Vaughan-Higgins said Rabu tended to get stressed by medical procedures, so everyone involved took steps to ensure it was as easy as possible for him.
“He’s been trained for hand injection over the past couple of months to make the procedure as stress-free as possible,” she said.
“I think he was just a little bit suspicious this morning that there was a few more people around than there normally is.
“He’s just he’s a very intelligent creature, so I think he knew that something was up.”
Dr Vaughan-Higgins said Rabu was asleep throughout the whole procedure.
“It can be a little bit of a painful procedure and for these wild animals having anyone in such close proximity certainly would be quite stressful for them,” she said.
“So it’s just better that they are completely anesthetised for the whole procedure and then he can wake up and feel very clean teeth and feel much better.”
Dr Vaughan-Higgins said keepers had suggested it would be useful to get more X-rays of Rabu so that was done too.
“He’s been a little bit slower in his walking, so we’ll just check if there’s anything like arthritis or any degenerative joint disease or issues like that happening,” she said.
“We’ll also give him a really good look over of his eyes, his mouth, his teeth and all of his joints.
“We know when we’ve got a chance like this to really get hands on we try and do as much as possible.”
Rabu will now go on soft food for a week before he can return to his normal diet, which includes chicken and pumpkin mash.
He also eats some fruit and vegetables such as capsicum, cucumber and tomatoes.
Binturongs are considered vulnerable species and are found in parts of Southeast Asia, including India, Nepal and Bangladesh.
