AN ALBINO wallaby from Flamingo Land Zoo was today undergoing pioneering surgery to remove cataracts from his eyes.
The zoo, near Pickering, said Beanie's poor sight has left him bumping into other wallabies in his enclosure.
So the nine-month old animal has gone to a specialist vet at the Animal Health Trust, in Newmarket, to undergo tests and hopefully have the cataracts removed.
"It is the first time an operation of this kind has been carried out on a macropod (family name for kangaroos and wallabies) in this country," said a spokesman for the zoo.
"But the operation has been carried out with success in Australia."
Beanie will return home for six weeks of rest and recuperation after the operation, with his eyes covered to avoid corneal ulcers and possible infections.
Zoo manager Andrew Melton said staff were "quietly confident" that the operation would be a success. "Everyone is looking forward to seeing Beanie return to his family in the zoo."
Updated: 12:06 Tuesday, July 10, 2001
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