Oregon elephant loses infected tusk to chainsaw

It took veterinarians and a dentist nearly five hours Saturday to remove what was left of an elephant's infected tusk at the Oregon Zoo and it took a chainsaw, handsaws and a drill that can punch through concrete to do the job.

At least 20 people worked from midmorning to early afternoon to remove the rock-hard ivory, which was extracted in 30-centimetre-long, bloody slabs. A ring the size of a roll of duct tape remains; veterinarians plan to go after it in about six weeks.

Tusko, who weighs about six tonnes, broke both tusks decades ago. The right tusk was removed when he was young. Years ago, a veterinarian sawed the left tusk off flush with Tusko's lip, hoping it would heal. But infection persisted.