Colombia zoo gives trafficked elephant root canal surgery

A zoo in Colombia has carried out an operation on a five-tonne African elephant with a broken tusk.

Thirty people took part in the procedure, which took three hours.

Tantor was brought to Colombia illegally by drug traffickers, and later rescued from a ranch. He had a fracture of the right tusk, close to the gum line, and the canal of the tooth was exposed and became infected.

Vet Dr Carlos Sanchez told BBC Radio 5 live: "Not only the Ochoa brothers, but also Pablo Escobar had exotic animals at that time, when they were very powerful. You name it, they could have anything they wanted."