(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-02-04 14:44

NANCHANG - A South China tiger cub in an East China zoo has regained its eyesight after what is believed to be the first ever cataract removal surgery on the critically-endangered big cat species.

The tiger, which is a year old on Friday, had the cataracts removed from its eyes on January 27, said Zhao Wei, an official of Nanchang Zoo in Jiangxi Province. The operation lasted an hour.

The male cub, coded 393, is one of the country's two surviving South China tigers born through artificial insemination. He was born in Shanghai on February 8 last year and was sent to Nanchang at six months old.

Zoo workers suspected he was unable to see because he often ran into walls and fences and could only sniff for food.

In December, he was diagnosed with congenital cataracts in both eyes, a result of inbreeding.

South China tiger cubs are prone to congenital defects because almost all the 72 tigers bred in captivity nationwide are descended from the six tigers captured in the wild in 1955.

"We were very concerned over whether the cub should be operated on at all," said Zhao. "Some zoo workers said the species was too rare to take the risk."

Chinese vets and doctors have reported success in cataract removals on Siberian tigers, but have never operated on a South China tiger.

Zoo managers finally decided to take the risk, and entrusted a top eye surgeon at a hospital affiliated to Nanchang University for the operation.

"I removed cataracts from thousands of humans, but it was the first time I have operated on a tiger," said Dr. Liu Fei. "Cats have a third eyelid and their anatomy is quite different from humans."

She invited the hospital's best anesthetist, Prof. Xu Guohai. For safety considerations, Xu consulted doctors who had worked on Siberian tigers and giant pandas for advice.

As the sensors on the electrocardiograph for human beings could not penetrate the tiger's thick fur, Xu had to use his hands and auscultatory devices to monitor the animal's heart and breathing.