A serval, an albatross and a spider monkey have been ousted by the antelope ruling the roost at Wellington Zoo's animal surgical wing.
"Yellow Left Ear", a 35-kilogram female blackbuck antelope, has become the largest animal to go under the knife at the zoo.
The 13-year-old had cataracts in both eyes, which meant her vision was functioning at less than 10 per cent, head vet Francois Lampen said.
"We're not too sure if it's going to be 100 per cent successful, we're just giving her ... the best treatment that we can."
Her right eye had deteriorated in the past few months, causing her to stumble into obstacles and get picked on by other animals in the enclosure, shared with giraffes and ostriches.
She was nearing the end of her life, which typically spanned 15 years. "We're hoping to give her a good standard of life for the next few years."
The operation was performed by one of the country's two veterinary ophthalmologists, flown in from Palmerston North.
The antelope was injected with a general anaesthetic and given gas anaesthesia before the operation, which lasted 1 1/2 hours.
Craig Irving removed the lens from her right eye, stitched it up, and reinflated the eye with liquid.
Cataracts, which were common in all animals as well as humans because "they've all got eyes", occurred because of genes, diabetes or old age. Cataracts effectively turned the lens from a soft-boiled to a hard-boiled egg.
Dr Irving was not unnerved by the first antelope he had operated on in his 40-year-career, which included operations on cats, dogs, kiwi, tuatara and lions.
"The surgical principles are the same."
The operation had gone well and there was a good chance her vision would be restored, though it would not be perfect, he said.
It would be a few days before it was known how successful the operation was.
The surgery was done under the watchful gaze of visitors to the zoo's veterinary wing, The Nest.
The Nest was named Best New Large Exhibit at the 2010 Regional Zoo and Aquarium Association Awards last week.
THE WEIGH-IN
The blackbuck's operation set the zoo's record for the largest animal to have surgery. The other heavyweight contenders include:
- Serval, 16kg – contraceptive implant
- Spider monkey, 9kg, sliced tip of finger off after getting trapped in a slide
- Albatross, 6.5kg, crash-landed in a storm – X-rays and blood tests
