Spike, a 20-year-old Asian elephant at the Calgary Zoo, was merely playing with the tires in his pen, when he accidentally broke one of his tusks, leaving an enormous crack in what remained. He wasn't in any pain, but zookeepers knew if the crack spread, it would reach the nerves at the base of the tusk and that would be painful. If root canal sounds like an awful procedure for humans, think about the possibility with an elephant. "Doing a root canal or an extraction of an infected tusk in an elephant is incredibly difficult," says Dr. Sandie Black, head of the Calgary Zoo's Veterinary Services. "The tooth is many feet long and well-embedded in the bones of the face.

With the possibility of root canal ruled out, veterinarians realized the only option was capping the injured tusk - along with the other one so the elephant would feel balanced. The Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) was called in to create stainless steel caps for the tusks. SAIT then contacted 3M Canada, confident that they would have an adhesive for the cap. 3M understood that a dental primer would improve the adhesion so 3M Dental was brought in as well.

Spike came through the procedure well, his tusks now capped using 3M™ ScotchBond™ Multi-Purpose Plus Dental Adhesive and 3M™ Scotch-Weld™ DP-820 Acrylic Adhesive. This isn't the first time 3M has come to Spike's aid. Several years ago Spike underwent foot surgery that required him to wear a protective canvas boot for a full year. How did the zoo staff hold that boot in place? 3M™ Duct Tape - and a lot of it. Spike went through 3 rolls of tape a day for a year. As if that isn't enough, he's had other foot surgery in the past, as well as surviving the harrowing experience of a hurricane when he was in the Miami Zoo in the early 90's. Maybe now, Spike could just spend some time showing off his new tusks and relaxing.