A rare white lion received a six-hour dental operation to remove the broken roots of its two rotting canine teeth . Aslan , a resident of the Kevin Richardson Wildlife Sanctuary on the outskirts of Pretoria , had been in pain since his canine teeth broke a year ago . The pain had resulted in the nine-year-old male becoming isolated , aggressive and agitated by its inability to bite down . Animal behaviourist Kevin Richardson notes that Aslan had become isolated , aggressive and agitated . The video produced by denture company Fixodent , captures the operation and features lion whisperer and animal behaviourist Kevin Richardson . He says : ‘ A lion without its bite is not really a lion , it ’ s really important for a lion to have a full set of teeth that are usable. ’ Filmed interacting with the pride , Kevin speaks of the special place he has in his heart for Aslan , who he remembers was bitten by his father after being in the wrong place at the wrong time . The white lion is placed under anaesthetic and stretchered to the makeshift , onsite surgery by a number of people . Lion whisperer Kevin Richardson stays by the lion for the duration of the surgery while it gets fragments of its rotten canine removed . Dr Adrian Tordiffe operates on the lion for six hours and removes the entire root of the rotten canine . He says : ‘ I couldn ’ t imagine anything better than having a white lion and it was quite an incredible thing to see this really pure white ball of fluff amongst all these brown lions. ’ In preparation for the long procedure , which Kevin predicted could take up to four hours , the lion is placed under anaesthetic and stroked in reassurance . The video then fast-forwards to the day of the operation as three cars transport the lion to the makeshift , onsite surgery . Kevin Richardson states that the lion is a 'real tough character ' after going under the knife for six hours . Dr Adrian Tordiffe removes all the rotten fragments of tooth from where the lion 's canine used to be . The operation took a lot longer than Kevin had anticipated and a total of four teeth were worked on . Aslan is then laid out on the table and the animal anaesthetist , Dr Adrian Tordiffe , points out the order in which he will attend to the teeth – the gaping hole left by the broken canine tooth is visible . Kevin stays by the lion ’ s side for the duration of the operation as the rotten fragments of the canine tooth are pulled from its mouth . After the last piece of tooth is removed , the doctor sews up the hole and notes that the animal will soon be without the pain and as a result a much happier lion . The fragments of the broken and rotten canine teeth were removed and the doctor later sewed up the holes . After the operation Aslan returned to his big cat ways and was once again able to eat comfortably with the rest of the pride . Later in the video Kevin notes that the six hour operation was a lot longer than he had anticipated and that a total of four teeth – instead of two – were worked on . He says : ‘ He ’ s a real tough character to endure that . Now with hopefully no pain in the mouth and the ability to bite nicely he ’ s not going to feel so insecure. ’ Aslan is then shown being seamlessly reintroduced to the pride , despite Kevin ’ s fears that it may not go entirely smoothly . Kevin strokes Aslan 's chin and notes that he has not been able to do that for a long time on account of the pain the lion was in . Despite Kevin ’ s fears that it may not go entirely smoothly , Aslan is welcomed back to the pride after his operation . The king is back ! Kevin notes that the other lions are pleased to see Aslan and that they are once again a happy pride . ‘ I think the other lions were happy to see him back , ’ says Kevin . ‘ Within a short period of time they ’ re all lying together and licking each other and sleeping amongst each other. ’ ‘ We are going to have a happy pride . The king ’ s back. ’ Since the operation Aslan has been able to return to his big cat ways and is once again able to eat comfortably with the rest of the pride . More information on Aslan can be found on his official website and the original video can be viewed here .
The lion is place under anaesthetic and has fake teeth painted on . The lion removes canine tooth fragments and sews up hole . Animal behaviourist Kevin Richardson The lion is ' tough character ' Video concludes with ' the king ' being reintroduced to the pride . The lion lives at Kevin ##moor Wildlife Sanctuary in South Africa .