Surgeons prepare to operate on walruses

In the wild the walruses comb the soft sea bed with their tusks

A team of British surgeons has arrived in Moscow to save the lives of the city zoo's walruses, which need urgent surgery to remove their infected tusks.

The plight of the walruses was highlighted by the Russian media last November when they launched an appeal for donations to pay for the British team to treat the walruses. Donations also came from Britain.

The local media have picked up the story again now the team has arrived and are showing pictures of the walruses lolloping on the snow-covered banks of their pools to the delight of the crowds of spectators.

The only thing is that a darling like this one needs up to 20kg of food a day

Russian TV correspondent

All ten walruses were rescued as orphans in the wild on Russia's Pacific coast. Russian television said they are all four to five years old.

Pain

Despite the pain from their infected tusks, the walruses continue to play, scrambling over the rocks and taking fish from the trainers' hands.

The walruses could die without the operation

Anna Pavlova, who looks after the walruses, says she considers them as her own children. She has raised them since they arrived in Moscow feeding them milk and even sleeping with them to keep them warm.

Natalya Istratova, the zoo press secretary told the TV that in their natural habitat they comb the sea bed with their tusks in search of molluscs for food.

But in the zoo, she said, the bottom of their pool is concrete.

"Our walruses have far more time than they would in the wild. That is why they continuously grind down their tusks against the bottom of the pool."

Five-hour operation

To cure the infection, the team want to remove the damaged tusks in an operation which can last for up to five hours.

Russian TV: "Walruses are intelligent and kind"

Russian TV's correspondent said walruses are very intelligent and kind animals. Their usual food is fish fillets, and on special occasions squid and prawns.

"The only thing is that a darling like this one needs up to 20kg of food a day," she said.

The team, led by British veterinarian John Lewis, will spend about two months preparing for the operation and delivering all the equipment to Moscow.

The team includes an anaesthetist, a dentist and a crew of assistants.

Despite their pain, the walruses continue to delight the crowds

All are medical experts who have successfully treated scores of walruses and other tusked animals around the world, Mr Lewis said.

Mrs Pavlova said: "Without these operations, the consequences would be tragic."

"All the staff of the zoo hope that the operation will be a success. And that these walruses, who are still very young, will continue giving joy to all the visitors to the zoo, and children in particular, for years to come," the TV said.

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.