An unusual tusk was performed at Colchester Zoo when Tembo the elephant had some special dental work done.

The bull elephant had snapped a section from one of his tusks and a specialist dentist was called in to seal up the break.

Vet John Lewis anaesthetised Tembo, who lay on the floor of the elephant house throughout the procedure.

Tembo was down for about an hour while specialist dentist Peter Kertesz worked on the elephant's tusk.

Zoo curator Anthony Tropeano said: "It all went very well. It was more straightforward than we could have ever hoped for."

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Published Monday, December 13, 2004

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