Ist knows the drill when it comes to treating wild beasts
eeth ea eats ounts small nt. quatic ard, a JIMMY McCLOSKEY veterinary science lecturer at South Africa’s University of Pretoria, uses a specialist anaesthetic to put animals to sleep. As our pictures show, he works on a wide variety of zoo animals, and often travels thousands of miles to help ease the suffering of exotic beasts. He has worked on hippos, rhinos, elephants, lions, cheetahs – even a skunk. Gerhard spent years training for the role and is now regarded as one of the world’s best animal dentists. But early in his career he had to convince people that animals suffer toothache just as badly as humans. He says that, where possible, animals should have their teeth brushed regularly, like humans. But he added that because of their wild nature, many of his patients do not get treatment until they are in agony. He said: “Unfortunately, when dealing with naturally wild animals you often get called in once there is advanced disease.
“The process is dependant on where the patient is and how easy it is to get to and treat the individual.
“Most readers will know they often have to go to a dentist more than once to treat a specific tooth-related problem.
“But we often have to do everything in one go.
“It is rare that we get to see our patients again so preparation is crucial to the success of the intended treatment.”
His practice is famous for caring for tusked animals, especially elephants.
Gerhard said: “Every time I work with elephants is so memorable. I adore them and know that whatever we get to do with them is because they allow us to.
“All these animals eat different things and it is just incredible how their teeth are so carefully adapted for these differing diets.
“I use only a few veterinarians as my anaesthetists as the animals we work on are usually very valuable both monetarily and emotionally, so a good team is essential.
“We always strive to do the best for patients.”