Members of social media have been exchanging several comments after a photo appeared on twitter showing a Vet in shorts on his knee while hands pulling open the lips of a lioness in the wilderness of Akagera national Park.
'Even if I knew that lion was shot dead, I cannot touch it. Supposing it wakes up? I'm going to have nightmares after seeing this photo,' Hervé reacted to the intimidating photo.
However, like in any other controlled parks, this is a routine check-up conducted on these big cats. They are first euthanized then such diagnosis is conducted by a qualified veterinary doctor.
In July 2015, seven lions from South Africa were introduced and released in Akagera National Park, making them the first lions in Rwanda for 15 years. AndBeyond donated five lionesses from Phinda Private Game Reserve.
The LIONS Teeth
Armed with canines up to 7cm in length, jaws which can exert over 300kgs (690lbs) of pressure and which are hinged to allow a gape of 11in, the lion's mouth is an intimidating place.
Like all other mammals, the African lion has a fixed arrangement of teeth which can be generalised into a dental formula. This formula can only be effectively applied to adults as, like all other cats, the permanent teeth only begin to erupt at around three months of age, pushing the deciduous teeth up and eventually causing them to fall out. The full set of adult teeth are gained between the age of 13 and 15 months.
The dental formula can be determined by dividing the skull in the middle, then starting at the symmetrical midpoint and counting the teeth moving backwards along the jaw.
Each type of tooth is counted individually, with top teeth being the number in front of the slash. The whole dental formula for a lion is I=3/3 C=1/1 P=3/2 M=1/1. I= incisors, C= canines, P= premolars and M= molars, meaning a lion has 30 permanent teeth.
Lioness grips its canines into Buffalos neck while its claws are pinned through the skin too ensuring a tight composition
The dentition of any animal is a structural adaptation to its diet and therefore directly related to its feeding, foraging and hunting behaviour.
The front canine teeth are spaced such that they can slip between the cervical vertebrae of their prey severing the spinal cord and also to rip chunks of meat away from the bone.
Premolars and molars are termed as carnassials. These are specially located at the cheeks of the lion and are very sharp so as to perform their specified role â€" that of slicing.
The shapes of the back teeth make them work like a pair of scissors and this is also aided by the stiff jaws that cannot move from side to side, which helps keep the carnassials teeth in alignment for cutting.
Source : https://taarifa.rw/would-you-touch-in-mouth-of-akagera-lions/
