Elephant Hrant undergoes successful surgery in Tbilisi Zoo
A 23-year old elephant named Hrant has had his second tusk removed in a complicated operation performed in Tbilisi Zoo, Sputnik Georgia reports.
Veteran surgeon-dentists and anesthesiologists from Africa had been invited to perform the tusk extraction surgery which lasted for nearly 3 hours. The animal is expected to fully recover in 11 months.
The operation was recorded by international journalists for the new BBC TV series “Big Animal Surgery”.
International veterinarian surgeons removed Hrant’s first broken tusk four years ago in what they described as the hardest surgery in their practice.
The 6-ton elephant was taken to Georgia from Armenia in 2014 in a swap deal between Yerevan and Tbilisi Zoos.