Gold Dust (elephant)
Encyclopedia
Gold Dust was a male Asian elephant
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
Circus
. He is also alleged to have disemboweled a man in Worcester, Massachusetts
in 1884.
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.
Asian Elephant
The Asian or Asiatic elephant is the only living species of the genus Elephas and distributed in Southeast Asia from India in the west to Borneo in the east. Three subspecies are recognized — Elephas maximus maximus from Sri Lanka, the Indian elephant or E. m. indicus from mainland Asia, and E. m....
that resided at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
from April 30, 1891 until his death. He was indefinitely lent to the National Zoo as a companion for Dunk
Dunk (elephant)
Dunk , a tuskless, male Asian Elephant possibly from Ceylon, was the first elephant to reside at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. He was gifted to the National Zoo on April 30, 1891 by James E...
by the Adam Forepaugh
Adam Forepaugh
Adam John Forepaugh was an American entrepreneur, businessman, and circus owner. He owned and operated a circus from 1865 through 1890 under various names including Forepaugh's Circus, The Great Forepaugh Show, The Adam Forepaugh Circus, and Forepaugh & The Wild West.-Biography:Forepaugh was born...
Circus
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
. He is also alleged to have disemboweled a man in Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....
in 1884.
On November 3, 1898, Gold Dust collapsed while walking to Rock Creek
Rock Creek
-Streams:* Rock Creek * Rock Creek , disambiguation* Rock Creek * Rock Creek , in Illinois* Rock Creek , in Maryland and the District of Columbia* Rock Creek , in Missoula County...
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.
