The animal was a star on social media. The elephant had to be euthanized because of tuberculosis.
The well-known bull elephant Tusker, who is temporarily living at Basel Zoo, is dead. He had to be put to sleep on Wednesday morning because of tuberculosis, as Basel Zoo announced at a media conference.
Tusker was loaned from the Netherlands to Basel in spring 2021 with the task of continuing his successful career as a breeding bull in the local zoo.
Successful breeding bull
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The bull elephant moved into Basel Zoo in 2021. The animal from the Netherlands then provided for the long-awaited offspring of the African elephants.
«Little Tusker» in several zoos
The bull elephant, which weighs more than six tons, had already proven itself as a breeding animal in several places: Born in South Africa, it provided plenty of offspring in the zoos of Wuppertal and then also in the Rhenen zoo in the Netherlands.
And Tusker was successful: in December last year, the Zolli announced the pregnancy of the 46-year-old female elephant, Heri.
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Legend:
Hardly any other elephant could balance tree trunks as skillfully as Tusker.
zvg, Basel Zoo
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Legend:
The «Tembea» zoo had encouraged Tusker to play and discover.
zvg, Basel Zoo
Tusker, who should have moved on to Spain in his capacity as a breeding bull, became a Tiktok and YouTube star in Basel. His balancing tricks with tree trunks, filmed by visitors, went viral in April 2022.
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