Foreign experts remove tusks to save eight-year-old elephant

Experts conduct surgery to remove the elephant’s tusks. — Photo courtesy of the Đắk Lắk Centre for Elephant Conservation, Animal Rescue and Forest Protection Management.

ĐẮK LẮK — Following an accident leading to broken tusks affecting his health, an eight-year-old elephant in the Central Highlands province of Đắk Lắk was anesthetised by foreign experts and veterinarians and had both tusks removed.

While he was playing, the young elephant named Gold hit a tree and broke both his tusks.

The provincial Centre for Elephant Conservation, Animal Rescue and Forest Protection Management treated him for the breaks, but the wounds did not heal and impacted his deep marrow. The pain caused him to stop eating, and he lost weight.

The centre invited animal doctors to examine the elephant, who determined that Gold had broken his tusks and that they could not be saved. They showed signs of severe infection and would affect his health if not treated promptly.

The centre asked for permission from authorities at all levels and received approval to remove both tusks to ensure Gold’s health.

The decision for Gold to undergo surgery was made at the beginning of April, but then discussions with the world’s leading experts on elephants in the world began and involved veterinarians, on how best to perform the two surgeries to remove the youngster’s tusks.

To facilitate the surgery, doctors anesthetised and installed equipment to monitor the elephant’s health throughout the process, which the centre announced on Thursday(July 18) had gone well. Gold’s health has stabilised, and he is recovering well.

Gold came into the centre after he fell into a well in March 2016, while moving with a herd of wild elephants.

At that time, he was only a few months old. The centre repeatedly brought Gold back to the forest to look for his mother but failed, so the team has looked after him since then. — VNS