OKC Zoo Staff Perform Life-Saving Surgery On Cownose Stingray Named Maggie

The health of animals at the Oklahoma City Zoo depends on its leaders to be prepared for anything. The zoo staff had a stingray in need of medical attention. This stingray named Maggie had serious swelling that concerned zoo staff. However, they caught it in time to remove the problem. 

At the Oklahoma City Zoo people like senior director of veterinary services Jennifer D’Agostino make every animal feel at home.  

“Anything that lives here at the zoo, we take care of it,” D’Agostino said. “You deal with all kinds of species from all over the world. We did a really exciting procedure here at the Oklahoma City Zoo."  

When one of its aquatic animals felt like a fish out of water, they were prepared to make her feel better. “We knew we had to do something to solve that problem," D’Agostino said. 

Maggie is a cownose stingray that had swelling on her ovary known as cystic ovarian disease. "It got enlarged and it was full of cysts," D’Agostino said. “Stingrays can get that too.” 

Zoo staff made a little history in their attempt to save Maggie’s life.  “We have never done surgery on a stingray before to this extent,” D’Agostino said. 

With the help of colleagues at other facilities helping them every step of the way, D’Agostino’s team removed this titanic ovary. “That ovary weighed about a pound and a half,” D’Agostino said. “The surgery went absolutely perfect.” 

This team is prepared to throw out a line and tackle any problem to keep animals like Maggie living a healthy life at their home away from home. “We have to deal with unusual and new things every day,” D’Agostino said. 

Zoo staff said surgeries like this are important for their knowledge so they can handle this problem if it happens again. Of course, Maggie is back with her friends inside the zoo’s Stingray Bay.