A team of veterinary surgeons successfully helped an injured crocodile by fixing its teeth in the university’s super specialty hospital in Bidar on Monday.
A team led by Dr. B.V. Shivaprakash, dean of Bidar Veterinary college, performed the procedure. The giant was caught by villagers of Chalkapur in Bhalki taluk on the banks of the Karanja river canals. They handed it over to Forest Department officials who sought help from the university. The animal was probably injured when its mouth was tied with ropes, the officials said.
The crocodile, which had suffered a mandible fracture, was sedated using and X-rays and ECG were conducted. A special driller was used to bore through its jaw and Kirschner binding material was used to fuse bones. The procedure took 90 minutes, Dr. Shivaprakash said.
The crocodile is being nursed back to health by the Forest Department in a pond in Shahapur forest.