Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1886-12-30
DISSECTING AN ELEPHANT.
A Big Job For Doctor and Half Dozen Stu
dents-Cause of the Animals Death.
Philadelphia Press

| Pnladephla Press.
Last Friday night, shortly after dark,
says the Press, the elephant Dom Pedro,
the most distinguished animal in the Zoo,
| gave up the ghost. He was Is years of
age. The last four of these cycles were
exceedingly stormy. His end, however,
was peaceful, but to the very last he re-
| tanned his perversity of will and refused
to be reconciled to his captivity.
As a consequence of his untimely tax
! ing off, was a red-letter day in the mis-
| tory of the veterinary department. of the
university. Dom Pedro's carcass lay on
the cold cement floor of the dissecting
room, and DIR. HuidekoPer, the dean of
the department, has not been happier
| since the installation of the departm ent
| in its present quarters.
! During "Dom's" five months illness
from infammatory rheumatism the doc
tor has faithfully prescribed for him,
with the understanding that if the brute
died he should have the keen delight of
1issecting the remains for the purpose of
snricRing science. Human anatomy is
now thoroughly understood. So is also
that of nearly the whole of the rest of
the animal kingdom, with several
strikidg exceptions, one of which
| is the elephant. No satisfac-
! tory work on the subjest exists, and DR..
Huidekoper proposes to supply thesomis
sions so far as he is able for a thorough
study of Dom Pedro. It was with this
feeling of responsibility that the doctor
has worked steadily on his subject ever
since it was brought in Saturday morn
| ing, and he has almost forgotten to take
| his meals.
| Saturday was spent in carefully remov-
| ing the hide, which is to be stuffed, and
also in severing the head, and yesterday
the doctor with half dozen of his most
proficient students, began the task Of
separating the various organs for future
work. When they had finished the frag-
nents occupied half dozen large heaps,
and the place looked as if it had been the
center of large railroad accident.
The aniR al lay on its right side, and
the first thing ccomplished was the
severance of the left front and hind legs.
Then the muscles on the left side were
cut away, and the ribs each great deal
bigger than the largest bone in mans
body, were heaped one by one on table.
Then came the removal of the heart and
lungs, which occupied nearly two hours.
They were so heavy that 1t took the
strength of three men to place them on an
adjacent truck. After thus carefully sep
arating tissue after tissue, the viscera
were taken out and stretched on a can
vas-covered slab, when several photo
graphs of them we're taken. Each organ
was then carefully separated from the
other, ard the work will continue through
the week. No attempt was made to weigh
any of them.
From a superficial examination DR..
Huid0koper made several important dis
coveries, one of which was the presence
Of ''pleura," the existence of which had
been denied. The head was not examined
specially. DR.. Huidekoper's investiga-
ton, so far as his students are concerned,
are more for the purpose of comparison
with the anatomy of the horse. Ia ad
dition to careful study Of each organ, a
great deal Of attention will bs paid to the
arrangement of the Animal. The whole
Of the right side will be taken apart inch
by inch and all the phenomena scientif-
cally noted.
The head goes to Jefferson Medical
College. DR.. Chapman, preseason of
physiology, was on hand yesterday watch
ing a subordinate saving the heavy skull
apart. The brain is to be preserved for
future study.
cit may not be generally known" said
DR.. Chapman, yesterday, ''that there are
only two brains larger than the human
brain. One of these is the whales, which
weighs four pounds, nominally, and the
other is the elephants, weighing from
eight to ten pounds. The human brains
weight is about three pounds"
DR.. Chapman also pointed out the fact
that there is an air-chamber five inches !
deep in the elephants head surrounding !
the brain cavity and directly beneath the
outer skull. In the providence Of nature
the object of this is to make the ponder !
Gus head of lighter weight, SO that it may !
be carried easily by its owner.
Dom Pedro has been in the Zoo ten |
years. Supt. Brown said that he pur-
chased Dom Pedro and mate in New
York in 1876, and the day he arrived his
distinguished namesake, the emperor of
Brazil, was making his rounds in the gar
den. The employees Immediately dubbed
him Dom Pedro.
Early in June he developed case of
rheumatism, a bodily i'll to which ele-
plants are specially liable. he had grown
worse all the fall, and the last week of his |
sickness he was unabls to stand on hiu |
feet. His proud spirit never quailed,
however. His death was painless. It
came when the rheumatism touched the
heart. 1t mas Deen very Qlncut6 TO al
minister his medicine to him. Not
long since the ruse was adopted of filing |
a scooped-out apple with the remedies
and feeding it with a dozen or more
sound one. The dodge worked for a while
but "Dom" soon found it out, and after
that it was no longer a strict success.
Each apple thereafter was carefully ex
amined, and the deceptive ones thrown
out.