Boki the bear re-joins friends at Wildwood after brain surgery

A brown bear who underwent pioneering, life-saving brain surgery in October has rejoined his 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.

After spending the winter in semi-hibernation, he has now been able to re-join Wildwood’s other two bears, Fluff and Scruff.

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.

Head of bears at Wildwood, Jon Forde, 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 was adopted from Port Lympne Reserve in Kent in 2022, after being rejected by his mother and hand-reared by keepers.

Keepers at Wildwood taught him key bear behaviours and began integrating him with Fluff and Scruff, who had been rescued from horrific conditions in a Bulgarian hunting facility.