Wild Goat Braves Life-Saving Brain Surgery Only To Come Back Stronger

Mariel Ruvinsky • Writer and Editor

Aug 5, 2021 1:00 PM EDT

When it comes to animals living in the wild, absolutely anything can happen. Young animals can tragically lose their parents, their protectors, they can get injured, or catch diseases. The wild is a dangerous place. Unfortunately, the gorgeous young goat that we're going to tell you about today has suffered the latter - a life-threatening worm sitting in an area on her brain that she most likely caught from a dog.

Thankfully, her story has the happiest of endings, because while it's true that the wild is a dangerous place, there are times when we can count on people to help, and in this case, there were many of them. After life-saving brain surgery, this goat came back stronger than ever, ready to conquer the world and run free again. And strong as she was, she was successfully released back into the wild.

Read more of the story and see amazing pictures and videos below!

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via Jared Zion

The goat was spotted in the wild around the area of Mitzpe Ramon, officials from Wildlife Hospital told ICanHasCheezburger. She looked very weak, apathetic, and was walking with a limp. On top of that, her head was tilted unusually to the left. She was brought into Wildlife Hospital by the Nature and Parks Authority inspector who spotted her, and was quickly taken in to get checked out.
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via Jared Zion

The group of veterinarians taking care of her ran global tests, checking her health, and found nerve damage. They feared this damage was the result of a worn that gets transmitted to wild animals from dogs. The worm sits in a specific area on the brain and creates cysts that situate themselves on parts of the brain itself, causing damage. To confirm the diagnosis, another doctor, Mairav Shamir, a surgeon and neurology specialist, was brought in. Upon her observations, it was immediately decided to give the goat a CT scan.
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via Jared Zion

That wasn't all. Saving the life of this wild animal took the effort of many amazing people with an unwavering desire to help. To get the emergency CT scan, she was taken into Tipul Nimratz, an emergency veterinarian service. They happily agreed to help even though the unique center deals mostly with cats and dogs. Of course, the young goat was accompanied every step of the way by Dr. Ariella Rosenzweig from Wildlife Hospital. There, the results were confirmed, there was indeed a large cyst on the goat's brain, and it was decided that surgery was necessary immediately.
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via Jared Zion

The goat was taken into surgery right away in Tipul Nimratz. The surgery was critical - without it, she would not have survived. The removal of the cyst had to be delicate, so as to not hurt the brain of the goat permanently. And it was incredibly successful! After the hard work of the surgeons and the amazing dedication of all the veterinarians, the young goat came back even stronger than before.
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via Jared Zion

It was less than an hour before she was standing on her feet and even eating again. The first days after the surgery were the most critical ones, so she was under constant supervision. With the great care she got from the people around her and the successful surgery, it didn't take long for her to get healthier.
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via Jared Zion

Today, the goat is roaming free again, better than ever. She was released back into the wild, sprinting out of her cage and into the world, looking back at the people who helped her. We are so thankful to everyone involved in this amazing rescue, and we wish for many more successful ones in the future.
Check out the heartwarming video of her release!
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via Jared Zion
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via Jared Zion

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