Jerusalem hospital has Mango the bear’s necessities

Doctors at the Hebrew University veterinarian school  in Jerusalem have successfully operated on a Syrian Brown bear who needed emergency surgery to correct a disc eruption.

Neurosurgeon Dr Shamir and Dr Horowitz performed the seven-hour operation on the giant 40-stone beast, called Mango.

The procedure was deemed a success and the hospital is hopeful that Mango will soon return to living a normal bear life after his recuperation.

The Syrian brown bear population is declining due to habitat loss and poaching. They are a popular target for big game hunters in the Middle East. In addition, bear bile is a valuable commodity because of its use in traditional Chinese medicine as an assumed cure for poor eyesight and gall stones.