The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1891-10-28
ANIMAL AILMENTS.
DOCTORING THE WILD BEASTS
IN CAPTIVITY.
TheyAre More Tenacious of Life Than
Human Beings-Setting Broken
Leg G-Dressing Wounds
Dental Operations.

The wild animals are more tenscious
Of life than human beings, and very few
of them die early of natural death.
They would require no medicine or
doctoring if they were IN their native
forests, but the change in their mode of
life frequently induces diseases that
could easily be cured if they were al
lowed to run about at will. On the
other hand the mortality among the
Gagged animals is not as great as among
those loose in the jungles, for accidents
and injuries from fights and bullets are
never heard of in the Gagged life.
Once in great while one of the wild
animals escapes from his pen to another,
and fight ensues. After such con-
fict, lacerated limbs, bloody jaws and
injured bodies mutely appeal for some
soothing hand to allay the pain. Broken
legs and claws, and even loosened
teeth increase the list of injuries. But
they are not submissive to their doctors,
and they resent any intrusion with
growls and snarls. A broken leg of an
animal is q most difficult thing to cure,
but it is often done when the animal is
a very valuable one.
Straight jackets or sings are pre-
pared for the injured animal, and when
this is strapped around him he is held
tight prisoner. The broken leg pro-
trudes from the cage, while the big AMI
NAL is lashed close to the iron bars. In
this position he can do nothing but howl
and growl at his prosecutors. The leg
is set properly and bound up with
splints, and then 80 nicely attached to
the straight-jacket that the animal can.
not use it if he would. Lions, tigers,
bears and similar wild animals have their
broken limbs treated in this way. The
sling is 80 arranged that they can 60
to sleep in it without seriously disturb
ing the broken bone. It is not very
comfortable bed, but it is better than to
have the broken leg grow together in
deformed shape.
Wounds are dressed in similar ways.
The animals are tied securely to the iron
bars so that they canno. snap at the sur
geon, and then the wounds are washed
and dressed. The bandages are tied on
securely, but frequently very wild
beast will tear them off as soon as put
on. This only aggravtes the sores, and
if they continue in this perverse mood
they are sometimes tied up in sings,
where they cannot touch the bandages.
Animals frequently have to have their
toes cut, or the nails pulled out. In
their nstive jungles they wear the strong
claws oE'so that they never need trim
ming, but in their quiet cage life there
is nothing to keep them short. Proba-
bly, once year they need trimming, and
this operation is often attended with
considerable fun. The lions and tigers
object seriously to having their feet
manipulated with, and they fight and
growl savagely until the operation is
over with.
The operation is really very simple.
A strong rope is secured to the animals
foot, and then several men pull the foot
through the side of the cage. The ami
NAL kicks, snaps, howls and exerts all of
his strength to get his foot back, but he
is helpless in the hands of his keepers.
While two or three hold the foot between
the two iron bars, another one quietly
trims the nails to suit himself. In
growing toe.nails are cut off, too, or
extracted by means of strong pinchers.
When the animals have the tooth. ache
they suffer the same as human beings. In
their greediness to eat their dinner they
may snap bone so hard as to loosen one
of their teeth. This gives them ex-
cruciating pain, and the tooth must be
extracted before they can find relief.
Now lion or a tiger hates to have
tooth extracted as much as boy, and
sometimes the operation hurts great
deal more. Very frequently the tooth
has to be knocked out of the jaw with a
hammer or at least loosened so that the
big pincers can pull it out. The animal
has to be tied and the jaw held wide
open with a gag before the tooth can BE-
taken out. 1t might we'll seem to his
lordship thst his prosecutors were about
to kill him, but when the troublesome
tooth is finally out he shows his relief by
wagging his tail. His intelligent eyes
seem to say that he understands now
why they made such fuss, and !. he is
thankful to them for it, but when it
comes to have another tooth extracted
he is Just as sullen and angry.
The small animals are treated by the
same physician, but they can be haDdled
with less trouble. Still the wildcat,
with its strong, 1.-THE body, is as disa-
greeable customer as any of the larger
animals, for doctoring. They are never
tanned so that they can be handled with
impunity. When sick they snarl, snap
and scratch even at their keeper. Gen
orally dry-goods box of the right size
is taken, and two of the top boards are
pulled of, ,and half circle cut into each.
When they are nailed down again the
two half circles leave hole in the top
of the box about the size of the cats
neck. The wildcat is put in the box,
and the neck is IN the hole, with the
head outside. so that the cat cannot get
in or out. She is helpless prisoner, land
the poor thing can be forced to take any
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