Tessa, 40: Metro Zoo's gentlest giant
STEVE RUSSELL/TORONTO STAR
Eric Cole fills in for the zoo's grieving elephant keepers a day after Tessa's death from falling over. Efforts to get the elephant back on her feet failed.
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Snaggle-tusked runt a favourite with staff, visitors
Jun 15, 2009 04:30 AM
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Megan Ogilvie
Staff Reporter
One by one they came to visit their dead.
All through the night, Thika, Toka, Iringa and Tara made their way across the Toronto Zoo enclosure to stand by their fallen sister, a 40-year-old elephant who died Saturday after a shove from a dominant member of the group.
Some stood solitary vigil, others tossed dirt on to the cooling body. But each was there to mourn Tessa, one of the original members of their herd.
"She was never alone," said Eric Cole, supervisor of the African Savanna at the Toronto Zoo.
Tessa fell Saturday after being pushed by another elephant looking to steal her food. Zoo staff did everything they could to get Tessa back on her feet – even bringing in a crane and sling – but she was unable to stand on her own.
"We tried to lift her up with the crane and she put her feet on the ground, but she just wasn't supporting herself," said Cole.
"She just stopped breathing when we put her back down. She died slowly."
Tessa was one of the zoo's original inhabitants when it opened its doors in 1974, and during her 35 years in the elephant enclosure, millions of visitors watched her toss her trunk, take dust baths and munch on hay.
The bug-eyed, snaggle-tusked elephant was a favourite with staff, who said she was endlessly patient with her keepers.
When she died, three hours after being knocked down, the eight elephant keepers were distraught.
"It was a flood of tears," said Cole, who has worked with the elephants for 10 years. "Everyone kind of said their goodbyes to her. It was very quiet, people were hanging their heads and crying. ... We were just drained."
The docile pachyderm, who had health problems since birth, was the least dominant member of the zoo's five-female herd.
"She was a bit of a runt," said Cole.
Her eyes were buggy and slightly crossed. Her left tusk grew in a semicircle. Her tongue curled weirdly and her mouth was crooked. Tessa also had poor muscle tone and found it difficult to use her trunk.
Cole said he and the other keepers found Tessa to be a slower learner than the other elephants.
"She was an interesting animal," he said. "Everything was different about Tessa."
He believes Tessa's fall, soon after the elephants were given hay, was an accident.
"It wasn't about bullying, it was about getting food," he said. "It wasn't anything malicious."
Because of her weak trunk, Tessa was using her left foot to guide hay to her trunk. As Tessa was balancing on three legs, Thika rushed at her to gain an extra share of the hay. Tessa tried to move away and was caught off balance.
Huffman immediately called for help. Within minutes, the other four elephants were contained and zoo vets were on the scene.
Cole said elephants cannot stay on the ground for long because their weight puts too much pressure on their internal organs.
Tessa could not help herself stand because she had fallen on one of her back legs and was lying at an awkward angle on a hill.
During the three-hour attempt to get Tessa on her feet, Huffman said zoo staff made sure the elephant remained comfortable.
"We fed her a whole bucket of treats at the end," he said. "I don't think she suffered."
Keeper Hannah Hamel said the elephant never made a move to harm her helpers.
"It was like she understood we were trying to help her," she said.
Tessa will be buried on the zoo grounds near other elephant graves.
One day after her death, Cole said the keepers were still "cut up" by her absence. Many were remembering Tessa's favourite antics.
"Tessa liked to toss hay on her head," said Cole. "She would go around with a blob of hay on her head, like a hat. She looked ridiculous."
Former elephant keeper Tony Meuleman, now senior keeper at the zoo's Canadian Domain, said Tessa was a long-time favourite.
"She would put her trunk out and let me rub her tongue," he said. "She was a gentle soul, very gentle."
RIP, Tessa.
