Irene Doing Well After Surgery

Nov. 4, 2022 - Irene is awake and doing well! She had surgery today to remove her left eye and alleviate the pain associated with age-related lens luxation.

We are sending a heartfelt thank you for the incredible teamwork and efforts of the almost 50 professionals from many organizations and disciplines who came together to make this possible.

Irene is recovering now, and we will continue to monitor her over the next few days to ensure there are no complications following today’s successful surgery.

Thank you to everybody who helped in this amazing effort to help Irene including local and visiting veterinary specialists, a national expert in elephant anesthesia, a veterinary ophthalmologist, colleagues from the Denver Zoo, El Paso Zoo, Houston Zoo, Oregon Zoo, White Oak Conservation Center, Albuquerque Fire & Rescue, Corrales Fire Department and Rio Rancho Fire & Rescue. And of course, thank you to our own animal care, veterinary and facilities teams. We could not have done this without your tireless dedication and teamwork.