RAMAT GAN, Israel (AP) — Veterinarians are trying acupuncture to cure a Sumatran tiger at an Israeli zoo.


The 14-year-old tiger, named Pedang, suffers from a chronic ear infection. On Sunday, a holistic medicine professional tried acupuncture on him, pricking him with several pink needles in his ear and at other points of his body.


The tiger was sedated during the treatment.


The Zoological Center of Tel Aviv-Ramat Gan said this was the first time it used Chinese medicine on an animal. The zoo said other conventional treatments, like antibiotics, failed to cure the infection, which has lasted more than a year.


Mor Mosinzon, who treated Pedang, said the acupuncture was meant to strengthen his immune system and open his ear canals so that his body can better absorb the antibiotics.






  • Pedang, a male Sumatran tiger, who is 14-years old and suffering from chronic ear infections, is given acupuncture treatment at the Ramat Gan Safari, an open-air zoo, near Tel Aviv, on June 9, 2013. After Pedang was anesthetized the veterinarians cleaned his ears, took blood and skin samples and gave the tiger holistic treatment which is the first time this treatment has been used at the safari. (JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images)




  • Veterinarian Gila Tzur examines Pedang, a 14-year-old male Sumatran tiger that has been suffering from chronic ear problems, as it receives a holistic treatment based on acupuncture at different points in his body and ears in the Ramat Gan Safari near Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, June 9, 2013. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)




  • Pedang, a male Sumatran tiger, who is 14-years old and suffering from chronic ear infections, is given acupuncture treatment at the Ramat Gan Safari, an open-air zoo, near Tel Aviv, on June 9, 2013. After Pedang was anesthetized the veterinarians cleaned his ears, took blood and skin samples and gave the tiger holistic treatment which is the first time this treatment has been used at the safari. (JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images)




  • Pedang, a male Sumatran tiger, who is 14-years old and suffering from chronic ear infections, is given acupuncture treatment at the Ramat Gan Safari, an open-air zoo, near Tel Aviv, on June 9, 2013. After Pedang was anesthetized the veterinarians cleaned his ears, took blood and skin samples and gave the tiger holistic treatment which is the first time this treatment has been used at the safari. (JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images)




  • Pedang, a male Sumatran tiger, who is 14-years old and suffering from chronic ear infections, is given acupuncture treatment at the Ramat Gan Safari, an open-air zoo, near Tel Aviv, on June 9, 2013. After Pedang was anesthetized the veterinarians cleaned his ears, took blood and skin samples and gave the tiger holistic treatment which is the first time this treatment has been used at the safari. (JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images)




  • Veterinarian Gila Tzur, left, examines Pedang, a 14-year-old male Sumatran tiger that has been suffering from chronic ear problems, as it goes through a holistic treatment based on acupuncture at different points in his body and ears in the Ramat Gan Safari near Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, June 9, 2013. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)




  • Pedang, a 14-year-old male Sumatran tiger that has been suffering from chronic ear problems, goes through a holistic treatment based on acupuncture at different points in his body and ears in the Ramat Gan Safari near Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, June 9, 2013. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)




  • Alternative medicine specialist Mor Mosinzon examines Pedang, a 14-year-old male Sumatran tiger that has been suffering from chronic ear problems, as it goes through a holistic treatment based on acupuncture at different points in his body and ears in the Ramat Gan Safari near Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, June 9, 2013. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)




  • A Safari employee checks the pulse of Pedang, a 14-year-old male Sumatran tiger that has been suffering from chronic ear problems, as it goes through a holistic treatment based on acupuncture at different points in his body and ears in the Ramat Gan Safari near Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, June 9, 2013. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)




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