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Tusko

Not to be confused with Tusko (Oregon Zoo).
Tusko the elephant in a 1925 advertisement for Al G. Barnes Zoo in California‍—‍note Tusko's wildly exaggerated claimed age ("200 Years Old")

Tusko, formerly known as "Ned", was a giant circus elephant captured at age 6 in Siam (now Thailand).[1][2] He stood just five feet high when he was unloaded from a sailing ship at New York Harbor in 1898.[1]

Originally named Ned, he was part of several circuses in the 1900s, including the Great Syndicate Shows, the Great Eastern Shows, and the M.L. Clark & Sons Combined Shows.[1] In 1921, he was purchased by the Al G. Barnes Circus and became its main attraction.[1] He was renamed Tusko. The tusks which presumably earned him his name were about seven feet long (213 centimeters) at this time.[1] By 1922, he was touted as "The Meanest Elephant"[3] as well as "the largest elephant ever in captivity", though at 10-feet-2-inches tall (3.1 meters), he was seven inches shorter than Jumbo. Nonetheless, Tusko was a ton heavier than Jumbo and the largest elephant in North America since Jumbo. On May 14, 1922, Tusko escaped in Sedro-Woolley, Washington, and caused $20,000 in damage.[1] [4]

John Ringling bought the circus and sold Tusko to Al Painter, who worked for the Lotus Isle amusement park in Portland, Oregon, where he performed as "Tusko the Magnificent".[1][5] The March 23, 1931, issue of The Oregonian Newspaper reported that an airplane crash at Lotus Isle spooked the animal, causing Tusko to go on a rampage.[3] Painter sold the elephant to T. H. Eslick, one of Lotus Isle's developers.[1] He spent some time in an exhibition road show, accompanied by his keeper and lifelong devotee, young George "Slim" Lewis.[citation needed] Eslick later abandoned him at the 1931 Oregon State Fair.[1] By this time, his tusks had been reduced to nubbins.[1]

Tusko changed hands repeatedly, until finally Seattle Mayor John F. Dore, taking pity on his poor condition, had him confiscated from his latest owner on October 8, 1932.[1] Tusko ended his days in the Seattle Zoo, dying of a blood clot on June 10, 1933.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Capi Lynn (August 29, 2017). "The time Tusko the elephant was abandoned at the Oregon State Fair". Statesman Journal.
  2. ^ HistoryLink Tusko the elephant rampages through Sedro-Woolley on May 15, 1922. Historylink.org. Retrieved on 2021-06-13.
  3. ^ a b "Lotus Isle Amusement Park". PdxHistory.com.
  4. ^ "Elephant on Rampage— He Leaves Thirty-Mile Trail of Destruction in Washington State", The New York Times, May 18, 1922, p. 12
  5. ^ Reflections, McKenzie River. "Oregon's most famous elephant led a colorful and tragic life". McKenzie River Reflections. Retrieved 2025-01-07.
  6. ^ "Death Takes Tusko, Big Elephant That Lived Stormy Life". Chicago Tribune. June 11, 1933. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved 2010-10-16.
Quelle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tusko