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Pittsburgh zoo's lion to get root canal | TribLIVE.com
Allegheny

Pittsburgh zoo's lion to get root canal

Chris Pastrick
Chris Pastrick
ptrepilepticlion1090415
Philip G. Pavely | Trib Total Media
Razi, seen here in 2015, is an 8-year-old African lion, housed at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium.
ptrepilepticlion3090415
Philip G. Pavely | Trib Total Media
Razi, a 6-year-old African lion, gets a check-up at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015. Two years ago, Razi was diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy, a rare neurological disease that causes intermittent seizures.
ptrepilepticlion1090415
Philip G. Pavely | Trib Total Media
Razi, seen here in 2015, is an 8-year-old African lion, housed at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium.
ptrepilepticlion2090415
Philip G. Pavely | Trib Total Media
Razi, a 6-year-old African lion, gets a check-up at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015. Two years ago, Razi was diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy, a rare neurological disease that causes intermittent seizures.

How do you give a 500-pound lion a root canal? Very carefully.

Zookeepers at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium will have a rather large patient on the table Tuesday when they give Razi, the zoo's 8-year-old African lion the dental procedure.

Tribune-Review's news partner WPXI reports the appointment is scheduled for 10 a.m.

The keepers found the troubled tooth during a daily health checkup. An oral exam and X-rays confirmed that Razi had a complicated crown fracture of his upper canine tooth.

It's not known how Razi's tooth was broken, but the zoo's veterinarian told WPXI it might be related to his epilepsy, a condition the zoo's staff has been treating for four years. He is the only lion in the United States known to have the affliction.

A human dentist will work alongside veterinary staffers during the procedure.

Razi will be given an anesthetic in the lion building then transferred to the zoo's Animal Care Center, opened in 2012.

Razi was born at the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk and came to Pittsburgh at age 2. He lives with this brother Aiani.