Pictured are color (left) and infrared (right) photographs of Falcor's right eye. Infrared photographs can help identify certain eye problems that may not be easily seen on a regular exam or in color photographs. In this photo, the tumor on the lower eyelid is more clearly visible in the infrared image and is easily identified.
Falkor, an 11-year-old, 412-pound Bengal/white tiger cross, lives a happy life at the 2,300-acre Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) sanctuary in San Andreas, where on-site veterinary care and a group of dedicated caretakers provide housing for 26 rescued, abused, abandoned or retired captive wild animals, including elephants, bears, primates and other species.
Zookeepers keep a close eye on the animals at PAWS every day. They are trained to look out for health problems as they feed, clean and otherwise care for the animals.
In 2023, Falkow had a soft tissue sarcoma mass removed from around his left eye. The resection was completed with clean margins and has shown no recurrence so far.
“Since then, we've been paying close attention to Falkor's face in particular,” says PAWS Veterinary Services Director Dr. Jackie Guy, DVM '01, “so his caregivers noticed right away when a black mass of melanin began to grow on his right eyelid.”
Lead Tiger Warden Renae Smith has been with PAWS for 17 years and was the first to notice.
“Renae knows Tiger inside and out,” Dr. Guy says, “and she communicated with us right away, so we knew we had to schedule surgery right away to remove the tumor before it got any bigger.”
Dr. Sarah Adelman, an ophthalmology resident at the University of California, Davis, examines Falkow's eyes.
Dr. Guy called the UC Davis Veterinary Hospital's Ophthalmology Service, which, thanks to donor support, recently acquired a new laser device during the hiring process for Dr. Lauren Charnock, who was trained on the device during her comparative ophthalmology residency at Auburn University.
“Dr Charnock has introduced this cutting edge technology to our service and we are fortunate to be one of only a few veterinary clinics to have this equipment,” said Dr Catherine Good, Director of Ophthalmology Services. “We are very excited to have the opportunity to bring this equipment to Falcor.”
While PAWS has a state-of-the-art hospital on-site, the team performed the surgery in Falkor's enclosure to reduce the total time under anesthesia. The sanctuary is equipped with portable gas anesthesia, imaging machines and other equipment that can be easily transported to the site.
After administering an anesthetic to Falcor, Dr. Guy and his team quickly set up a makeshift operating room inside Falcor's enclosure. Accompanying Dr. Guy were UC Davis alumnae Dr. Jennifer Gravis (DVM '09, MPVM '10) and Lynn Dowling, DVM (BS Biology '13). The three have worked together at PAWS for more than a decade. Dr. Gravis (part-time as a staff veterinarian) and Dowling (full-time as a shift supervisor) also work at the UC Davis Veterinary Hospital.
Dr. Lauren Charnock performs laser treatment on Falcor's eyelids.
The PAWS team was responsible for anesthesia induction and monitoring, blood draws, and other ancillary procedures, while Dr. Good and Dr. Charnock performed the tumor removal and laser treatment. From UC Davis, Dr. Sheri Tatham, RVT, Nikki Rochin, RVT, and ophthalmology resident Dr. Sarah Adelman assisted.
“PAWS and UC Davis have many connections with the medical team at Falcor,” said Dr. Guy, “and I am excited to be part of this great relationship between both institutions.”
The particular laser treatment that is performed is called photodynamic therapy. At UC Davis, photodynamic therapy is used primarily on horses, cats, dogs, and a variety of other animal species with cancers on or around the eye.
Typically, the tumor is first surgically removed, as done at Falcor. Then, a specific light-sensitive dye is injected into the surgical site. This dye has therapeutic properties and is activated by a laser that emits a specific wavelength of light. The laser procedure immediately creates a scab to protect the site from infection, targets and kills any remaining cancer cells, and “seals” the surgical site without the need for stitches. Patients who undergo this treatment experience minimal tissue swelling and appear to be very comfortable after surgery. It also allows the doctor to remove more tissue during surgery, reducing the risk of tumor spreading or regrowth and increasing the chances of clean margins during tumor removal.
In total, Falkor's anesthesia, comprehensive eye exam, and surgery to remove the eyelid tumor took approximately 75 minutes. Falkor's condition remained stable throughout the surgery and he is recovering well.
There are probably no more white tigers in the wild. In every 10,000 wild tiger births, only one will have a white cub. With only about 5,000 wild tigers left, it is highly unlikely that a white cub will be born in the wild again.
For a white tiger to be born, both the mother and father must carry the recessive gene for white color. The birth of white tigers in captivity, and possibly in the wild, are all the result of inbreeding.
Dr. Jackie Guy and Dr. Catherine Good had the opportunity to clip Falkor's nails while he was under anesthesia.
Falkor is one of about 200 white tigers in captivity worldwide. The first recorded sighting of a white tiger was in India in the 1500s. The first white tiger was captured in 1915 but was not bred. In 1951, another white tiger was captured in India and named Mohan. He was bred with a normal colored female tiger and produced three orange/black cubs. All three cubs inherited Mohan's recessive gene. Mohan later mated with one of the cubs and produced the first white cubs in captivity. All white tigers born in captivity are descended from this cub.
Dr Ngai explained that the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and other legitimate breeding organisations do not support the breeding of white tigers because inbreeding leads to many disabilities and deformities.
“Not only is the white colour recessive, but other conditions such as dwarfism, cleft palate, vision problems, deformed limbs and deformed facial features are also recessive. Inbreeding ultimately results in white tigers with too many health problems.”
Although Falkland's melanoma is not necessarily the result of inbreeding, melanoma is a problem in white and gray animals, who may have a higher incidence of melanoma than darker pigmented animals.
While PAWS is doing all it can to keep Falkor's future bright, he does have a notorious past. According to the PAWS website, he was “part of a larger government lawsuit against Oklahoma private zoo owners Jeff and Lauren Rowe (featured in the Netflix series Tiger King). The case involved the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and ultimately led to the seizure of 68 big cats from the facility for allegedly violating the federal Endangered Species Act and the Animal Welfare Act.”
PAWS is not open to the public, but it regularly hosts open houses and other educational events. For more information, visit the PAWS website.
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(L-R) Dr. Sarah Adelman, Nikki Rochin RVT, Dr. Lauren Charnock, Dr. Kathryn Good, Sheri Tatham RVT, Dr. Jennifer Gravis and Lynn Dowling RVT care for Falkor.
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