Tiger at Zoo Miami recovers from tooth ache

(WSVN) --A big cat at Zoo Miami is back on the prowl after becoming quite the big patient for vets and zoo staffers.

Wednesday, a bad toothace, sent Hati, an endangered Malayan tiger to the operating table, where doctors performed a root canal on him.

"Hati had broken a canine tooth several months back and we had been trying to schedule a dental procedure for him so we can get a root canal so it doesn't get infected or doesn't cause him any significant pain."

The procedure took roughly two and a half hours. One of the doctors said just days after the fix, his patient looked as sharp as ever.

"So far he's doing great," said Dr. K. Randall Groh. "The keepers tell me he's back on his training regimen, he'd probably be on display tommorow. He's eating well, had a nice rabbit for lunch so far so good."

And in an odd twist, doctors said the root canal could help Hati have little tigers running around soon.

The zoo recently acquired a female tiger of the same subspecies, with the purpose of the two mating and producing cubs for the grounds.

They said in the wild, biting and mating go hand in hand.

"One of the problems is that the cats use their teeth a lot in their mating behavior. Hati is here to produce little tigers and he wasn't doing that. And it was suspected that the broken tooth was part of the problem. They like to bite each other in the neck."

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