A tiger left blind by constant camera flashes has had his eyelids sewn shut to offer him another chance at life. Firmin was 95 per cent blind when he came under the care of La Tanière Zoo Refuge in 2019, having been rescued, alongside his sister, Pam, from a life spent as an attractional animal in Spain.
Sadly, due to the flashes from tourists' cameras, the tiger has lost the majority of his sight, and once he entered France, it only deteriorated further and he then had to be enucleated, which means removing the eye from the eye socket or orbit. Patrick Violas, the co-founder of La Tanière Zoo Refuge, said: "When he arrived, Firmin was already 95% blind. He was very thin because, obviously, these animals there, when they are only used to make money, not many people take care of them.".
Firmin underwent his first operation back in 2021, but they recently discovered "perforating ulcers in one of the eyes" and the formation of glaucomas, according to Patrick, reports 20 Minutes. It led to them quickly arranging a follow-up surgery for January 15th, with vet Laurent Bouhanna deciding that to help Firmin avoid any more pain, the best course of action would be to remove his eyes and sew the lids shut.
Firmin, who was involved in photoshoots when he was young and is reportedly accustomed to being blind after being used for the purposes of entertainment, underwent the procedure to address the risk of infection. In other recent news, a UK zoo has been forced to up its security efforts after its gorilla enclosure experienced a number of break-ins, following the emergence of "false information" that the animals had been abandoned.
