KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) -- He's the king of the jungle, but one lion isn't fighting animals, he's fighting a disease. Tsavo has cancer and it's causing him a lot of pain. But the UT College of Veterinary Medicine is trying to make him a little more comfortable.
"We actually see a lion here in the clinic once a week," says Dr. Nathan Lee, a Radiation Oncologist.
Two large cats came Thursday morning from Tiger Haven in Roane County. Sohan the tiger is getting checkups on a heart condition. But Tsavo's procedure is the main event.
"It is a very unique case. It's unique that the Melanoma he has not usual in cats. Never mind a lion. We think this is the first report case of this kind of melanoma in a lion," says Lee.
The 12 year old, 350 pound cat has skin cancer, a tumor on his upper lip.
"Melanomas occurs in domestic cats, especially white ones on the ears. And is probably solar induced. In Tsalvo we're not really sure how it cropped up. It's not in the right location for sun induced tumor," says Dr. Ed Ramsey, a Professor of Veterinary Medicine.
Debbie Wilkins of Tiger Haven says, "When we take them in, we promise to give them the best life we can, and if we can let them live a happy a life, we do. We made that promise when we took them, and we keep our word to them."
The team uses a tranquilizer dart to put Tsavo to sleep. Under heavy sedation, they move the lion from a rolling cage onto a gurney to prep him for treatment.
"Under the beam itself, it's only a couple of minutes. So actually 80 percent of time is involved in getting him to go to sleep and transporting him and bringing him back out," says Ramsey.
The radiation appears to be working, melting the tumor.
"The first treatment it was 10 by 12 centimeters, [Thursday] it is 6.5 by 4 centimeters, so pretty impressive response," says Lee.
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