SA vets save zoo elephant in Georgia

Mel Frykberg

World-renowned University of Pretoria veterinarians Professor Gerhard Steenkamp and Dr Adrian Tordiffe performed intricate dental surgery to remove an infected tusk from an elephant at the Tbilisi Zoo in Georgia on October 31, the university said.

Steenkamp, who teaches animal dentistry and maxillofacial surgery at UP’s Faculty of Veterinary Science, said that three years ago the zoo was devastated by the loss of 300 animals in a flood. “They currently have a pair of Asian elephants and a 23-yearold bull, Grand, was a gift from the Yerevan Zoo in Armenia four years ago,” he said.

When Grand was transported to the Yerevan Zoo from Russia he fractured both his tusks and in 2014 a British team removed the left tusk. Due to complications, the right tusk could not be removed but over time it became chronically infected. If bacteria entered the bloodstream, it could have been life threatening, said Steenkamp.

“Grand’s previous surgery had many complications. One was a protracted recovery time and the zoo was reluctant to operate on him soon after that procedure,” he said.

However, Tordiffe, who has experience in elephant immobilisations and anaesthesia at the Pretoria Zoo and vast knowledge of anaesthetising elephants in small spaces, was the perfect choice for the surgery on Grand.

Steenkamp has been developing techniques to treat elephant tusks since 1998. He has refined his methods and instruments, which are based on work he completed for his Masters of Science degree on the morphometrics of African elephant tusks.

The entire procedure from darting Grand to when he stood up after the operation was four hours and 15 minutes, of which just over three hours was surgery time. A crane was available to use to move the 3.5-ton elephant if it was in an inconvenient position for surgery, Steenkamp said.

Grand’s previous recovery from anaesthesia was difficult and long. He took six hours to recover and 12 hours to stand.

Grand has become a celebrity in Georgia and on the day of the operation international news crews descended on the zoo.

The surgery was filmed by the BBC as part of its new series, Big Animal Surgery. – ANA

Grand’s previous surgery had many complications. One was a protracted recovery time.