Birmingham Zoo, UAB team treat elephant’s cracked tusk

Bulwagi, the Birmingham Zoo’s 35-year-old African bull elephant, underwent what could be a breakthrough procedure this month to help correct a long-term crack in his tusk.

Should the crack have gone unattended, according to a Birmingham Zoo news release, it would have spread, limiting the elephant’s everyday functions. Like all elephants, Bulwagi uses his tusks for digging, lifting objects, gathering food, stripping tree bark and for protection.

Trails of Africa and the Zoo’s veterinary staff worked together with a team lead by UAB’s Director of Materials Processing and Applications Development Center, Brian Pillay, Ph.D., to carry out the Nov. 5 procedure. Pillay’s team, according to the release, included Ben Willis, Engineer 1 for the MPAD Center; Kristin Hardin, Ph. D. student in materials engineering; David Smith, undergraduate student in biomedical engineering; and Shivani Vashi, undergraduate student in material engineering.

Together, the team developed a specialized resin and application process meant to seal the crack and hopefully prevent it from growing.

Because of the tusk’s slow growth rate, according to the Zoo, the team will not be able to assess the procedure’s success for several months.