Sundzu after his tusk has been repaired (Source: Reid Park Zoo)
Repaired tusk (Source: Reid Park Zoo)Sundzu, one of Reid Park's newest elephants had to undergo a
dental procedure, after a wrestling incident with his older sibling Punga.
According to zoo officials Sundzu had cracked a tusk
several weeks ago while playing around in the enclosure with his brother.
"It is common for elephants, including youngsters, to
chip or break tusks while playing or digging," said Sue Tygielski, the Reid
Park Elephant Supervisor in a recent news release.
Zoo officials say that while Sundzu was not in pain
because of the cracked tusk, it was repaired to prevent further damage.
The repair work was done by San Diego Zoo Global and
Coyler Institute who traveled to Tucson to perform the exam and dental repair
on the damaged tusk.
"The San Diego Zoo Global team has a large herd of
elephants and they have done several of these procedures on young elephants,"
said Tygielski. "Our collective team of
experts worked flawlessly together and the procedure went as well as could be
expected."
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