A team of veterinary experts from the University of Cambridge have saved an endangered breed of tiger from a life-threatening disease.

Amba, a tigress from Shepreth Wildlife Park in Cambridge, required the help of police and a special firearms team to deliver life-saving surgery to remove a tumour in her abdomen.

Jackie Demetriou, lead surgeon, commented on the logistical problems of the surgery on the 175 kg tiger, particularly of ensuring that she was fully anaesthetised.

"Pleasingly, after getting this far, the surgery itself went very well indeed," she said. "At this stage we are cautiously optimistic Amba’s surgery has been a success and we are very pleased with her progress.

"Tigers are such magnificent animals and, in light of their endangered nature, operating on Amba was an incredible privilege for all of us and an experience I personally will remember for the rest of my life."

Shepreth animal manager Rebecca Willers said they had been "overwhelmed" by Amba’s speedy recovery.

"Though she spent her first 24 hours sleeping and we were all concerned that it was touch and go for a while, we were finally thrilled to see her exploring her outside enclosure again earlier this week, and positively seeking food too," she said.

The news was met positively by undergraduate vets. Queens’ third year vet student Peter Silke said: "It’s quite promising that she appears to be recovering well from surgery, considering the size the tumour must have been to have had a visible effect on her external abdomen."

“The logistics of sedating, transporting and then monitoring her anaesthesia throughout the procedure must have been formidable, and it's to the vet school's credit that they were able to adapt to perform surgery on such an unusual case. Shepreth Wildlife Park play an important role in educating the public about conservation, and the tigers are a big attraction, so it's good to see a positive outcome here.”