Boki the Bear rejoins playmates after life-saving brain surgery

Independent

14-05-2025

A brown bear who underwent pioneering, life-saving brain surgery last October has rejoined his old playmates after more than a year apart.
Three-year-old Boki, who lives at Wildwood Trust near Canterbury, Kent, started suffering seizures last summer, which were believed to have been caused by hydrocephalus (fluid on the brain).
It was decided that brain surgery was the best option for Boki, who went under the knife in October.
World-leading veterinary surgeon Romain Pizzi, who waived his fee for the job, fitted a stent between Boki's brain and abdomen to help him pass the excess fluid.
The young bear made a 'remarkable recovery' and was weaned off his medication with no adverse effects, just before he went into torpor (semi-hibernation).
Boki has now reconnected with his fellow bears Fluff and Scruff, a test that staff at Wildwood said would mark a major moment in his recovery.
The bears wasted no time reconnecting, and Boki quickly began play-fighting with Scruff just as he had before they were separated nearly a year ago.
Head of bears at Wildwood, Jon Forde, said the bears seemed to know something was wrong with Boki long before his diagnosis.
'Fluff and Scruff stopped playing with him for the whole season before we knew he was sick – it's amazing how intuitive they are,' he said.
'We had to be certain Boki was strong enough before putting them back together.
'He would often sit by the fence line, watching them, so we knew he missed them.
'But we were taken aback by just how much it has lifted all three of them. It's not just Boki who's benefited, we've seen a positive impact on Fluff and Scruff too.
'We'll continue to monitor their interactions carefully, but for now Boki will spend the day with them, then return to his own enclosure overnight, so he doesn't keep them awake all night.'
Boki had been adopted from Port Lympne Wild Animal Reserve in December 2022, after he was rejected by his mother, and had to be hand-reared by keepers there.
A spokesperson for Wildwood said: 'Wildwood, known for its expertise in bear rehabilitation, helped teach him key bear behaviours and began integrating him with Fluff and Scruff, the bears had been rescued from horrific conditions in a Bulgarian hunting facility over a decade ago.
'With the help of Wildwood's team, the pair have gone on to show natural behaviours like foraging and torpor.'