Vets remove elephant’s infected tusk

PORTLAND – The next time you dread a trip to the dentist, consider the plight of Tusko. 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 chain saw, hand saws and a drill that can punch through concrete to do the job. Tusko 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.