Tusko the elephant will soon be tuskless

This is a press release courtesy of the Oregon Zoo

Tusko's got tusk problems. The 6.75-ton, 35-year-old bull elephant, on loan to the Oregon Zoo from a private elephant facility in California, is set to have tusk surgery Feb. 17. Tusko's chronically infected, broken left tusk will be removed completely during the surgery. He is already missing his right tusk, which was removed when he was younger.

Tusko broke both his tusks during the late 1970s and had root canals done on each while living at a Florida zoo.

"Breaking tusks is not a problem unique to elephants in captivity," says Mike Keele, Oregon Zoo deputy director. "It is common in wild elephants as well." Tusks grow throughout an elephant's life, but otherwise are essentially no different from ordinary teeth. However, Tusko's left tusk has died and is no longer growing.

Zoo veterinarian Mitch Finnegan compares the tusk to a broken, rotten tooth in a human. "Bacteria build up in the wound and may enter into the bloodstream," he says. "This can cause heart problems."

Tusko's keepers have been cleaning the wound daily with water and Nolvasan disinfectant to keep the infection from spreading throughout his head. Tusko is blind in his right eye, probably from a past infection in his missing right tusk. If Tusko were living in the wild, the infection resulting from his broken tusk would be very debilitating. "Over time," says Finnegan, "it would probably kill him."

To prepare for his surgery, keepers have been training Tusko to lie down on a 17-by-20-foot waterbed. The bed, which holds 2,000 gallons, will be filled with warm water after the elephant is anesthetized. So far, keepers say, Tusko is right on schedule with his training. Because he is a former circus elephant, Tusko was already well-trained in a variety of behaviors, making it easy for zoo staff to build upon what he already knew.

To see video of Tusko's training, along with commentary from Oregon Zoo elephant keeper Bob Lee, please visit: http://www.oregonzoo.org/VideoArchive/elephant_TuskoSurgery.htm.

The surgery is risky, but Finnegan says the risk is outweighed by Tusko's discomfort and the overall threat a chronic infection poses to his long-term health. The main risk involved with Tusko's surgery is the anesthesia, which is especially dangerous for an animal as large as an elephant.

Compounding the risk is the amount of time Tusko will need to be anesthetized, a maximum of four hours. "Because he will be under for so long, there is a slim chance he may be too weak to stand up," says Finnegan. Trainers are planning ahead for this possibility by placing large straps under the waterbed, which will be attached to chains linked through rollers. In the event that Tusko is unable to stand up on his own, they will use the straps to assist him.

Elephants lie down to sleep, but can only do so for a few hours at a time because their large body mass can cause them to suffocate. Lying on the waterbed will help prevent damage to his internal organs and loss of blood circulation, both of which can prove fatal.

Tusko was born in Southeast Asia in 1971. He came to the Oregon Zoo in 2005 for the purpose of breeding with Sung Surin and Rose Tu. If Sung Surin doesn't get pregnant by the time she turns 25, according to Keele, the odds are against her becoming pregnant beyond that age. Even though the Oregon Zoo had male elephants Packy and Rama prior to Tusko's arrival, their genetic relatedness to the zoo's females make breeding unfeasible.

In the past 25-30 years, more has been learned about elephants than in the past 5,000 years. This is largely because elephants have been subject to intensive study at zoos across the world. The Oregon Zoo has been at the forefront of many discoveries. Until only recently humans knew next to nothing about the reproductive biology of elephants. But through the work of the Oregon Zoo and elsewhere, we know much more about elephant breeding cycles, the length of gestation and how elephants rear their young.

An endangered species, Asian elephants are represented by an estimated 38,000-51,000 individuals living in fragmented populations in the wild. Agriculture, deforestation and conflict with humans pose a constant threat to wild Asian elephants. The Oregon Zoo, through the Future for Wildlife program, has supported several range-country conservation projects primarily to protect native elephant habitat and to mitigate the often fatal human-elephant conflicts. Human-elephant conflicts are now the leading cause of death for elephants in Asia.

In response to the dwindling population of Asian elephants in the wild, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, of which the Oregon Zoo is a member, strives to maintain a sustainable population of the endangered elephants in North America. Currently, birth rates are lower than necessary to do so. Tusko will contribute to the genetic diversity, and perhaps the eventual survival, of the Asian elephant population in North America.

The zoo is a service of Metro and is dedicated to its mission to inspire the community to create a better future for wildlife. Committed to conservation, the zoo is currently working to save endangered California condors, Oregon silverspot butterflies, western pond turtles and Kincaid's lupine. Other projects include studies on black rhinos, Asian elephants, polar bears and bats.

The zoo opens at 9 a.m. daily and is located five minutes from downtown Portland, just off Highway 26. The zoo is also accessible by MAX light rail line. Zoo visitors are encouraged to ride MAX or take TriMet bus

No. 63 to the Oregon Zoo. Visitors who take the bus or MAX receive 50 cents off zoo admission. Call TriMet Customer Service, 503-238 RIDE (7433), or visit www.trimet.org for fare and route information.

General admission is $9.75 (12-64), seniors $8.25 (65+), children $6.75 (3-11), and infants 2 and under are free; 25 cents of the admission price helps fund regional conservation projects through the zoo's Future for Wildlife program. A parking fee of $1 per car is also required. Additional information is available at www.oregonzoo.org or by calling 503-226-1561.