Staff at Assiniboine Park Zoo are preparing for a unique surgery on Thursday, as they perform a root canal on the world’s largest special of weasel.
Hughie the wolverine will be under the care of Dr. Colleen O’Morrow and Dr. Chris Enright when he opens wide to have the deterioration in four of his 38 teeth repaired.
Hughie’s dental issues were detected last month in an unrelated treatment of an 11-year-old wolverine. The zoo’s veterinary team noticed the problem and contacted Dr. O’Morrow, a specialist in veterinary dentistry and oral surgery.
Dr. Enright will sedate Hughie by blow dart on Thursday morning and then transport him to Birchwood Animal Hospital, where Dr. O’Morrow will begin surgery.
Following the surgery, Hughie will be brought back to the zoo in a steel-lined “wolverine crate,” where he’ll remain until he wakes up and can safely be released back into his habitat.
