By LUCY LAING
Rescued: The lion, which was first spotted trapped in the snare in 2009, was finally free by rangers in the Mikumi National Park in Tanzania earlier this year. He has now been pictured in the wild for the first time since being freed (shown above) and appears to be on the road to recovery
A young male lion caught in a snare which slowly tightened around his neck as he grew older has been saved after a rescue operation was launched.
The lion was first spotted trapped in the snare in Mikumi National park in Tanzania back in 2009 but several attempts to rescue him failed.
After three years, the cord had become so tightly wrapped around the lion's neck that he was left unable to hunt and his gaping wound attracted flies and infection
Trap: William Mwakilema, chief park warden in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania, pictured holding the snare which was slowly garroting a young lion
The young animal would soon have been lying in agony in the African bush facing a certain death.
But thanks to coverage in the Daily Mail earlier this year, an operation to sedate the lion and remove the snare was launched this summer.
Facing death: The young lion was left trapped in the snare, which got tighter and tighter as he grew, for a total of three years after numerous attempts to rescue him failed
Shocking: William Mwakilema, chief park warden at the Mikumi National Park, said that the snare would have caused the lion a 'slow agonising death' if he hadn't been freed
Success: After seven failed attempts, rangers managed to sedate the lion and remove the snare from around its neck in August this year. They put a purple antiseptic on the lion's shocking wounds
Wounds: Rangers put a purple antiseptic on the lion's wounds in a bid to prevent infection and to help the animal to heal. The lion's skin had grown around the snare
Asleep: The animal pictured lying sedated in the Tanzanian bush. He was eventually revived by rangers who gave him an antidote to reverse the effects of the sedative drug
source: dailymail
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