I can picture the little artist’s model elephant on the drawing board being posed and turned about in order to provide all the angles necessary to continue drawing this sequence. No small feat, I suppose… when one considers all the angles we have seen over the last week.
Cutting it close? Really? Was there ever a doubt? Not so much. What Dusty really wants to say is “Here, Mark, would you like my badge?” It would seem that at least one of the characters here is redundant…
The Daily Trail 
Actually, I don’t think elephants collapse like a ton of bricks when they get tranqued. The videos I watched on Youtube (e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53ottoUCytY) show that the dart can go into various locations, such as a leg or rump (the latter seems to be a very popular spot). The dart requires up to 8 minutes to take effect. I suppose that depends upon the specific drug. Then the elephant just kinds of does a slow drop on its side. No “Ka-Whump”. The actual drama is the wardens and vets hoping the elephant doesn’t charge them before going under.
But then again, this IS a comic strip, so artistic license is in effect. Ka-Whump IS dramatic!