Tusko 1932

In regard to RL,s statement regarding "Tusko" this is a picture of the occasion he mentions when CFA members measured him in August of 1932 at the Seattle Zoo. I have all those statistics including the 14,000 lb. weight which I believe to be a guess-timate since the figure rounds off too neatly, in fact he looks rather peeked in this shot. "Tusko" might have been close to that in his palmy days particularly since he carried almost 1,000 lbs. in chains. Thats George "Slim" Lewis with the lash hook and "Sleepy" Gray in the background. Tusko died the following year on June 10. You are right "King Tusk" and "Tommy" are the same elephant, when we were at Baraboo, Lee Keener took him up to the scale and weighed him but the Ringling management made Lee take a blood oath not to release the figure. All that "cloak and dagger" stuff was in place then I was on the show 30 years ago and remains the same today however lately it has turned into a pretty expensive hobby.