6 | Animal Care
Great Horned Owl Eye Surgery Nine-year-old great horned owl, Roxie, was observed squinting her right eye and under closer examination, her care team noticed she was doing it more frequently. Over two years, Roxie underwent numerous eye exams and procedures, including the eventual removal of her right eye and the discovery of a cataract in her left eye. After several days of training, Roxie’s trainers were able to successfully administer voluntary medicated drops which continued through her July 2021 right eye removal and left eye cataract surgery and recovery in November. To remove the cataract, the Zoo partnered with veterinary animal ophthalmologists Dr. Nicholas Millichamp of Eye Care for Animals’ and Dr. Lynsey Wagner of Gulf Coast Animal Eye Clinic who performed the surgery. The new lens was specially created by scientists in Germany at an-vision Inc. Since her procedure, Roxie has made a great recovery, and we’ve seen improvement in her vision!
WATCH A VIDEO TO LEARN MORE ABOUT
ROXIE’S PROCEDURE
