A tigress named Volya from the Priamursky Zoological Garden, who has undergone several surgeries for a suspected case of jaw cancer, is making progress, the garden's director Andrei Dolin said.

“Volya is growling and is physically active, which we are very happy about,” Dolin said.

The tigress’ mobility is improving, Anna Melnikova, the garden’s chief veterinarian, noted. At night, she said, the tigress leaves her warm cabin and goes out to her open-air enclosure, where she walks around in any weather. After her walk she returns to her cage, where a constant temperature from 0° to -3°С is maintained.  

According to Melnikova, Volya has a gargantuan appetite, eating up to ten kilograms of meat every day. As she had to have many of her teeth removed after sustaining a bullet wound, she cannot chew food. Meat is cut for her into matchbox-sized pieces, which she takes on her tongue and swallows.

In 2005, the 1.5-year-old Volya was badly wounded by a poacher. A bullet hit her jaw, broke teeth and tore her tongue. The animal crawled her way to civilisation and was found in a barn in the village of Medvezhy in the Vyazemsky district, Khabarovsk Region. After that, the tigress was handed over to the Priamursky Zoological Garden.

In November 2013, Volya underwent a surgery led by renowned veterinarian surgeon Valery Sobolev, who works at the Kirov State Circus. Following the surgery, specialists said that they suspected a case of a “malignant tumor abruptly growing through the soft tissue and mandible bones.”

By 2014, the tigress had undergone courses of intensive treatment. During the New Year holidays, the animal was given a rest from medical procedures, during which she lost weight, from 100 kilograms to her current weight of 85 kilograms.