Overview
- Three-year-old Akito underwent the roughly 90-minute operation led by veterinarian Gerhard Steenkamp of South Africa and animal anesthetist Aleksandr Semjonov of Estonia.
- Veterinarians cleaned the wound, removed destroyed tissue, smoothed the fracture, and sealed the tusk with a filling to reduce infection risk.
- The zoo said the procedure was successful and reported that Akito returned to his herd later on Sunday.
- Steenkamp said he is optimistic the tusk can be preserved, with zoo staff now monitoring healing and documenting development.
- The specialist team has completed more than 80 comparable tusk treatments worldwide, and findings from this case will inform elephant dentistry.