Tusko

Tusko is a popular name given to elephants in captivity. Several notable elephants have been given this moniker.

Tusko: "The Meanest Elephant"

Formerly known as "Ned," this Tusko was a giant circus elephant captured at age 6 in Siam (now Thailand). [ [http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=5270 HistoryLink Tusko the elephant rampages through Sedro-Woolley on May 15, 1922] ] He stood just five feet high when he was unloaded from a sailing ship at New York harbor in 1898.

By 1922 he was touted as "The Meanest Elephant" [http://www.pdxhistory.com/html/lotus_isle.html Image of "Ten-ton, 12-foot Tusko the Elephant with his owner, Al Painter"] as well as "the largest elephant ever in captivity", though at 10-feet-2-inches tall (3.1 meters), he was seven inches shorter than Jumbo. Nonetheless, Tusko was a ton heavier than Jumbo and was the largest elephant in North America since Jumbo. The tusks which earned him his name were about seven feet long (213 centimeters).

No other circus wanted Tusko and he spent some time in an exhibition road show, accompanied by his keeper and lifelong devotee, young George "Slim" Lewis. Tusko ended his days in the Seattle Zoo, dying of a blood clot on June 10, 1932.

Tusko: "The elephant on LSD"

"Tusko" was also the name of a male Indian elephant at the Oklahoma City Zoo. On August 3, 1962, researchers from the University of Oklahoma administered 297 mg of LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) to him. Within five minutes he collapsed to the ground and one hour and forty minutes later he died. It is believed that the LSD was the cause of his death, although some speculate that the drugs the researchers used in an attempt to revive him may have contributed to his death. [http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/research/story/0,9865,770756,00.html A dose of madness in The Guardian UK] [West, LJ, Pierce, CM, & Thomas, WD. (1962). "Lysergic Acid Diethylamide: Its Effects on a Male Asiatic Elephant." Science. 138(3545): 1100-1103] [Boese, A. (2007). Elephants on Acid: And Other Bizarre Experiments. Harcourt.]

Tusko: (An elephant at the Portland, Oregon Zoo)

An Asian elephant by the name "Tusko" currently resides at the Oregon Zoo in Portland, Oregon. Tusko recently underwent two surgeries to have his tusks removed due to infection.

ee also

* List of historical elephantsTusko has also successfully mated with Rose-Tu, who is expected to deliver her first baby in September and October of 2008. Tusko arrived at the Oregon zoo in June 2005 on a breeding loan. He has successfully sired three calves in the past; two while living in Canada and one in California.

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