A bull elephant known as Tusker was euthanised on Wednesday at Basel Zoo after a battle with tuberculosis. The elephant had become a social media star.
Veterinarians at Basel Zoo were forced to put the animal to sleep on Wednesday morning because of tuberculosis, officials told reporters.
Tusker, a 6,610 kg bull elephant, had been loaned to Basel from the Netherlands in spring 2021 in the hope that he would provide an offspring to Basel Zoo’s three females.
On Monday the suspicion of severe tuberculosis was confirmed, said veterinarian Fabia Wyss. The elephant had been inactive for a long time, but the disease has not been clearly diagnosed.
Her colleague, Christian Wenker, said tuberculosis is common in elephants in the wild too. She said transmission to humans could be ruled out, but it was uncertain about the three female elephants.