Mike, Marshmallows & More teeth less...Ein Zahnarztbesuch im Lincoln Park Zoo 1967

Mike 17.09.1960 at Lincoln Park Zoo

Das ist Mike aus Chicago, ungefähr im gleichen Alter wie Walker heute, und da hatte er noch alle Zähne. Aber auch das sollte sich irgendwann ändern. Denn er badete nicht nur gerne, sondern war vor allem wegen seiner Vorliebe für Süßigkeiten bekannt geworden, insbesondere Marshmallows hatten es ihm angetan...-

That's Mike from Chicago, approximately the same age as Walker today, probably still with all of his teeth when the photo was taken. But that was to change too, as he had not only a liking for water. Mike was known for his sweet tooth, marshmallows in particular...

Gleich von zwei Zähnen ist in diesem Artikel vom September 1966 die Rede, die durch den Genuss von Marshmallows geschädigt worden waren und den Zahnarzt in den Lincoln Park Zoo auf den Plan riefen, aber nicht genug, ein Jahr später musste er nochmal kommen...-

Already two molars were in decay in September 1966, calling for dental treatment in the zoo to be followed by a visit one year later...

17.10.1967
Photos:Bob Kotalski/Chicago Sun Times

Als ich dieses Foto fand, dachte ich im ersten Moment, der arme Bär würde erschossen, doch es war nur der stellvertretende Zoodirektor, der hier einen Narkosepfeil auf Mike abfeuert um ihn auf die nächste Zahnbehandlung vorzubereiten...-

When I found that photo some weeks ago, I thought, jeez, the poor bear was going to be shot. But in fact it was only Gene Hartz, the Assistant Zoo Director, aiming a tranquilizer dart at Mike to put him to sleep so that his tooth could be pulled.

The crew is shown to turn Mike over to his side...

Hier wird Mike auf die Seite gedreht. Von dem Zähneziehen an sich gab es kein Foto, aber um ehrlich zu sein, mir hat auch das schon gereicht.-

There is no photo of the tooth extraction but to be honest, this time I was not too keen to see the details...


Es sieht so aus, dass nicht nur Mike aus dem Lincoln Park Zoo eine Vorliebe für Marshmallows hatte, ich fand im Laufe der letzten 2 Jahre eine ganze Menge Eisbären, denen diese Schwäche nachgesagt wurde, aber die Brookfield Zoo Eisbären haben allem die Krone aufgesetzt, sie sind im Juli 1969 gleich zu siebt (!!!) durch ihren Graben ausgebrochen, starker Regen machte dies wohl möglich, und endeten am Zoo Snack Stand, an dem sie sich erstmal kräftig an Marshmallows bedienten. Leider habe ich davon keine Fotos gefunden.Drei Stunden dauerte ihr Ausflug in den süßen Bärenhimmel bis sie wieder eingefangen werden konnten. Der Vorfall ereignete sich bevor der Zoo für den Tag geöffnet wurde.-

It seems that not only Mike from Lincoln Park Zoo had a soft tooth for marshmallows, I came across lots of US polar bears who were said to have had a liking for this kind of sweet stuff but the Brookfield Zoo polar bears topped it all, when they escaped their moat in 1969 and raided a snack stand, an incident which is still recalled by locals from Chicago, unfortunately I haven't found photos from that day...

1972

Und Mike, ja, ich hoffe, es ist er auf dem Foto, der ließ es sich, hoffentlich noch lange, weiterhin schmecken...-

And Mike, yeah I hope it is him in the pic, he continued to indulge whatever was offered to him

Wie eigentlich schon immer...
As he seemed to have done always...

Hier 1966 mit Dr. Fisher, dem populären Zoodirektor des Lincoln Park Zoos, der, man glaubt es kaum, einer der letzten amerikanischen Zoos ist, die freien Eintritt bieten!

Here 1966 with Dr. Fisher, the famous and popular director of Lincoln Park Zoo, which is by the way one of the last zoos in the US to offer free entry!


Note:
While I was working on the history of the polar bears from Lincoln Park Zoo, trying desperately to track down the Marshmallow-bears, for a long time I came up with only different old vintage cards. The moment I found the first pics of Mike, and with my post nearly finished, I googled a last time, still hoping for more details concerning Mike's background I found this, so credit for the last two photos go to The Circus No Spin Zone, a marvelous site which offers so many insights concerning zoo and circus history.

Und vor Weihnachten schnell noch zum Zahnarzt....Sure you need a rootcanal treatment before x-mas...?

Wer sich fragt, was denn hier vor sich geht..., das ist Glacier, 14 Jahre alt, aus dem Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma bei einer erneuten Wurzelkanalbehandlung. Erst letztes Jahr hatte er schon mal eine...Glacier stammt übrigens auch aus Churchill, im Alter von knapp einem Jahr kam er mit seinem Bruder Blizzard 1996 in den Point Defiance Zoo, nachdem sie verwaist aufgefunden wurden.

Here's how to give a polar bear a root canal

Point Defiance zoo: After you get him to the dentist, it might remind you of yours

KRIS SHERMAN

The patient needs a root canal.

He weighs 950 pounds, stands about 9 feet tall and is a top-of-the-food-chain predator.

So, what do you do?

Well, you dart him with a tranquilizer. Get about 10 strong backs to roll him onto a superstrong webbed net and lift him onto a pallet. Bring in a forklift, heft him into a truck and haul him off to the hospital. Forklift him out of the truck, get him onto a heavy duty gurney and call in a human endodontist who thinks it’s fun to look into a polar bear’s massive maw.

Other than that, the root canal performed at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium on Glacier the polar bear Saturday morning seemed remarkably similar to human dentistry.

There was a noisy, brrrrrrrrring drill. There were those very pointy, razor sharp files dentists use to clean out and enlarge the tooth cavity before they seal it off.

However, there was no expensive crown for Glacier. No nitrous oxide, or laughing gas.

For a root canal on a polar bear, conscious sedation won’t do at all. You need him fully knocked out, completely immobilized.

And he was a bit of a Grumpy Gus about it all to begin with.

“He was pretty angry with me this morning,” zoo veterinarian Dr. Karen Wolf said as he lay placidly on the gurney, his huge pink tongue lolling to one side while endodontist Dr. Edmund Kwan of Tukwila attended to Glacier’s fractured right maxillary canine.

Smart bear, Glacier. He knew what was coming when Wolf showed up with her dart gun.

Though she tries to do the deed quickly “to minimize stress on the animal” Glacier got enough of a look-see to jump up and down on his hind legs, pound his paws into the concrete, shake his head to and fro, saliva flying out of his mouth, and make a chuffing noise.

Once thoroughly sedated and secured in the surgery suite, he looked like a huge polar-style teddy bear – except for the IV line dripping saline and electrolytes into his massive right foreleg from a 3,000 milliliter bag; the endotracheal tube down his throat to help him breathe as anesthetic gas kept him asleep; the ventilator on standby in case it was needed; and the equipment monitoring oxygen saturation, carbon dioxide levels, heart rate and temperature.

At one point, Kwan, working with magnifying loupes over his eyeglasses, pulled a stringy piece of pulp about 3 inches long out of the tooth. He mopped up bleeding with gauze.

Veterinarians Wolf and Dr. Holly Reed, stethoscopes around their necks, kept their trained scientific eyes on their patient. Their tender hands periodically felt his heaving chest, and their expert ears listened to the beating of his great heart.

They were as caring as loving children caressing a beloved pet. But this is serious business. Polar bears are a vulnerable species. Zoos like Point Defiance care for and exhibit them as part of a Species Survival Program designed to preserve their kind and to educate the public about their challenges.

“Once you see a polar bear up close like this, you can’t get it out of your mind,” Wolf said.

The black pads of his feet felt a bit like rough microsuede. His matted fur was coarse on his body, but soft on his ears. His black nose twitched as Kwan worked on his tooth.

It wasn’t Glacier’s first root canal. Kwan, who volunteers his time, did one on the bear in 2008.

Zoo officials don’t know how he fractured his tooth; they recently discovered it during a routine check. Zookeepers use hand signals to get the bears to open their mouths for daily visual inspections, general curator Karen Goodrowe Beck said.

They began the week-and-a-half planning for the root canal shortly after keepers noticed the break, which could have come from anything from wrestling with another bear to chomping down on the beef femurs and knuckles he gets to eat along with a mixture of fish and dog chow, she said.

Getting to the broken tooth quickly can forestall a dangerous infection – and a massive, bear-sized, toothache, she added.

“Dental issues are a common procedure in polar bears, but it’s always a big deal when we immobilize an animal of this magnitude,” Wolf said.

The procedure began around 10 a.m. By 1 p.m., medicated and groggy but up and moving, Glacier was back home with his bear buddies.

And no doubt hoping for fish soup instead of beef bones for dinner.

About Glacier: Together with his brother Blizzard he was rescued as an orphan cub of about 11 months on Sept. 15, 1996, at Churchill, Manitoba, Canada and has lived at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium ever since.

Source & photo credits:
-The News Tribune Tacoma/20.12.09
-Point Defiance Zoo

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Mit Pfeil und Bogen,wenn ein Eisbär eine Wurzelkanalbehandlung braucht, incl.Video