'Working with animals is much more difficult than with humans,' he says, as Samantha lays out the rows of dental instruments. 'With an animal, I have to make an on-the-spot diagnosis and work very quickly.' (1)_____

Peter now moves close to the bars of Nero‟s cage and expertly directs a tiny, plastic blowpipe dart, containing a high dose of anaesthetic, into the lion‟s thigh (бедро). (2)_____

It takes six men to lift and move the 180 kilogram animal 2 metres from his cage door to the hay mattress that will serve as an operating table.

(3)_____ . Peter discovers a tooth that needs filling and he sets about doing that first. 'This is the same stuff as we use for human teeth,' he says, packing the medicine into the cavity. 'There‟s just more of it.' The dental work now over, Peter removes a gas canister from the lion‟s mouth. Without the supply of gas, Nero will start coming round fairly quickly, so the keepers move fast to pull him back to his cage. As Peter packs up, the lion stirs. The great yellow eyes are beginning to lose their drugged and sleepy look. 'Don't be fooled,' says Peter, 'He might appear sleepy but he could react very quickly now if he wanted to ...'