An elephant at a Canadian zoo recently had dental surgery to repair the tusk it broke while playing with a tire last year.
Spike the Asian elephant underwent extensive dental surgery recently at the Calgary Zoo, according to a story in the Gazette.
"These are analogous to a dental crown in people," Doug Whiteside, a senior veterinarian at the zoo, told the Gazette. It took two hours to install the custom-designed, stainless steel restorations.
Spike felt no pain because there are no nerve endings in the section of tusk that was removed to make way for the cap, Whiteside said. The procedure required eight people and cost more than $28,000 Canadian ($27,300 U.S.), which was donated. A 10-ton crane was kept nearby in case the elephant fell down due to the sedation.
Spike quickly returned to play with the tire, the zoo reported.
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