Rescued Bengal tiger gets surgery at U of M Veterinary Medical Center

(KMSP) - The University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Center had a special patient on Wednesday, one much larger than the veterinarians are used to treating.

Pandora, a 300-pound Bengal tiger, was recently rescued and transported across the country by The Wildcat Sanctuary. The 13-year-old tiger required reproductive surgery because, like her mother and aunt, she had reproductive issues that could lead to emergency surgeries.

The sanctuary took in Pandora and three other tigers from a defunct roadside zoo where the public paid to play with tiger cubs and have pictures taken with them.

Fifteen sanctuaries collaborated to provide for more than 110 big cats and bears from this facility. Several of the tigers from that facility had to have emergency surgery for reproductive issues shortly after being rescued.

Spaying an animal as large as Pandora is a serious procedure, so it was in the tiger’s best interest to have the expert team at the university perform the procedure.

Donations for Pandora’s vet procedure and daily care will be matched during the sanctuary’s Miracle Match campaign through April 30 at wildcatsanctuary.org.