Elephant tusk removal usually requires costly surgical procedures that are time-consuming and present a significant risk to the animal when performed using general anesthesia. Such techniques require gauges, chisels, and forceps to remove the tusk. This article reports the simple removal of the tusk of an 18-yr-old African elephant (Loxodonta africana) without the use of surgical instruments and anesthesia. Rubber elastics were placed around a tusk, causing loss of alveolar bone with subsequent exfoliation of the tusk within 3 wk. The healing process was uneventful.
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1 March 2003
INDUCED ELEPHANT (LOXODONTA AFRICANA) TUSK REMOVAL
Martin Steiner,
Alan R. Gould,
Thomas J. Clark,
Roy Burns
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Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine
Vol. 34 • No. 1
March 2003
Vol. 34 • No. 1
March 2003
dental
elastics
elephant
infection
removal
tusk