Gold Dust (c. 1873 – November 4, 1898) was a male
Asian elephant
The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living ''Elephas'' species. It is the largest living land animal in Asia and the second largest living Elephantidae, elephantid in the world. It is char ...
that resided at the
National Zoo in Washington, D.C. from April 30, 1891, until his death. He was indefinitely lent to the National Zoo as a companion for
Dunk by the
Adam Forepaugh
Adam John Forepaugh (born Adam John Forbach; February 28, 1831 – January 22, 1890) was an American horse trader and circus owner. From 1865 through 1890 his circus operated under various names including Forepaugh's Circus, Forepaugh's Gigantic ...
Circus
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...
. He is also alleged to have
disemboweled
Disembowelment, disemboweling, evisceration, eviscerating or gutting is the removal of organs from the gastrointestinal tract (bowels or viscera), usually through an incision made across the abdominal area. Disembowelment is a standard routine ...
a man in
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...
in 1884.
[2 "Bad Elephants" ''Los Angeles Times'', January 16, 1887]
On November 3, 1898, Gold Dust collapsed while walking to
Rock Creek with his companion Dunk. Even with Dunk's assistance, he was unable to rise and died the following morning. A postmortem examination revealed that his intestines were inflamed and his teeth were in bad shape and could not close properly.
See also
*
List of individual elephants
The following is a list of culturally or scientifically notable elephants.
Actors
* Chirakkal Kalidasan, one of the tallest elephants in Kerala, also notable for acting in some films, including the 2017 epic film, ''Baahubali 2: The Conc ...
References
External links
Smithsonian online catalog image of Gold Dust (left) and Dunk (right) taking a walk together
{{National Zoological Park (United States)
1873 animal births
1898 animal deaths
Individual elephants in the United States