Tusko
Tusko is the name of several well-known elephants .
Tusko (Woodland Park Zoo)
After the famous African bull elephant "Jumbo", the Asian bull elephant "Tusko" (Woodland Park Zoo) is one of the most famous elephants in North America. The bull elephant was born wild in Asia around 1897 and imported to America in 1900. From 1903 to 1916 the elephant was owned by ML Clark Circus. After that, the bull elephant moved to various circuses. This could be a sign that he has become dangerous and that he has had accidents. In 1921 he finally got into the Al. G. Barnes Circus, where he became the star of the show. However, when the bull entered the sexual musth period and became aggressive, the animal had to be left in winter quarters. A year later the bull elephant was back in the show, but he was put in chains like no other elephant in history. When another bull elephant from the circus fatally attacked a person in 1929, the company also wanted to part with Tusko. The dangerous bull was auctioned off to Bayard Gray for a dollar. He exhibited it together with George (Slim) Lewis and another assistant, but had problems getting a permit due to the animal's bad reputation. Finally, he moved the elephant around Seattle for a month without having a permit to show the animal, but was unable to keep the elephant hidden from the authorities for long. After the money had been raised in a collection, Tusko was bought for the zoo. With Wide Awake, also known as Cleopatra, the director of Woodland Park Zoo bought his first elephant in 1921. Wide Awake had previously toured with the Singer's Midgets . The second elephant, Tusko alias Ned, also had a career as a showman when he came to the zoo in 1932. The huge Asian elephant was confiscated from a bad position in a circus in Seattle . Bayard Gray had bought it earlier for a dollar. Tusko, who weighed around 7.5 tons, was considered one of the largest elephants to ever live in captivity during his lifetime. He died on June 10, 1933, whereas the elephant Wide Awake lived in Woodland Park Zoo until 1967 and reached the age of 54 years. After Tusko, who at times was probably the most unpopular circus elephant in the United States, Morse Turner , a hockey player with enormous body dimensions, was called "Tusko". Turner's sons set up a café, which they named "Tusko" in honor of their father.
Tusko (LSD victim)
Another elephant named Tusko was given to Dr. Louis Jolyon West and two colleagues received an LSD injection. The 297 milligrams of the hallucinogenic substance were arguably the highest dose of LSD that has ever been administered to a living being. Tusko lost control of his limbs after the bullet hit him with the fabric and eventually collapsed. The bull elephant died an hour and a half after the injection. The researchers summarized the result of the experiment with the sentence: "It appears that elephants are highly sensitive to the effects of LSD." It is unclear whether Tusko, who lived in the Oklahoma City zoo , was on the LSD injection or on the Means that were supposed to revive him. Decades later, further experiments were carried out with elephants and LSD: Ronald Siegel from the University of California administered two elephants similar doses of LSD to those that Tusko had once received. However, he mixed the substance into the animals' drinking water instead of spraying it. These two elephants did not show any violent reactions to the drug.
Tusko (Sobik)
Another tusko, also known as Sobik, is a bull elephant caught in Thailand in 1971 . This Tusko also has a circus and show career behind him. He is located at the Portland Zoo and has already fathered six elephant calves there. After problems with fractures and infections, both of his tusks had to be removed.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jesse C. Donahue, Erik K. Trump: American Zoos During the Depression: A New Deal for Animals . McFarland, 2014, ISBN 978-0-7864-6186-8 , pp. 165 ff . (English, limited preview in Google Book Search).
- ↑ a b Alexander Haufellner, Jürgen Schilfarth, Georg Schweiger: Elephants in the zoo and circus: Part 2: North America. Ed .: European Elephant Group. 1997.
- ↑ Tuskos history historylink.org
- ↑ Tusko's story on fairwaylanes.net ( Memento from September 5, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Benjamin Maack, Breakthroughs of the Crazy , on Spiegel online, January 19, 2010
- ↑ The Elephant on LSD , at: 20 Minuten online, November 1, 2007
- ↑ Data on Tusko (Sobik) ( Memento from June 1, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Tuskos Dental Surgery on goodanimalnews.com