Polar bear dental care: animal care professionals show us how it's done
And you thought brushing your dog’s teeth was hard?
Bear dental hygiene may sound like a veterinarian Mad Lib, but for the team at Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park Conservancy, it's a crucial part of taking care of their rescued polar bears.
Kaska and Aurora were both orphaned as cubs, and would have died had they been left in the wild. They've lived at the conservancy since they were both found in 2013.
Kaska has been trained to have her teeth brushed by animal care professionals like Jesse Kindzierski, opening wide for the toothbrush when she hears the command "brush" and sees the accompanying hand signal, and happily accepting treats afterwards.
"Kaska's a little bit further down the road when it comes to the behaviour of brushing her teeth," says Kindzierski.
Before she was rescued, the malnourished Aurora was eating sticks, rocks, and garbage to survive. That rough cub-hood has left her with ongoing dental problems.
"We've actually had specialists come and do root canals on her," says animal care specialist Heather Penner. "We've had to extract a couple teeth recently, because they had abscessed."
While she's not yet comfortable getting her teeth brushed like Kaska, Aurora is learning to open her mouth on command so the staff can have a look inside, monitor her healing, and see if any new problems are creeping up.
Also on Episode 3 of Arctic Vets, new intern vet Dr. Whitney Johnson operates on a rescued peregrine falcon with an injured beak, while Dr. Stephen and C-Jae investigate mysterious scars on injured belugas in the wild.
Watch Arctic Vets, Fridays at 8:30 (9 NT) on CBC, or stream it on CBC Gem.