Gold Dust (c. 1873 – November 4, 1898)[1] 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.
[2] 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.