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Over the past few years, scientists have noticed a fascinating and concerning trend in wild African elephants. This EleFact Friday, we’re looking at what researchers discovered regarding the tusks of African elephants in Mozambique, and what it means for the future of elephants in Africa. According to observations, genetic mutations may be causing some wild elephants who live in areas with heavy ivory poaching to be born without tusks. 

The findings noted that a mutation responsible for tusklessness is becoming more common in areas where elephants are most frequently killed. Elephant slaughters became incredibly popular in the late 1970s and throughout the 80s, when global demand for the material reached an all-time high. This period saw the elephant population in Africa diminish by half. During the civil war in Mozambique, armed forces killed a large number of elephants, using the funds from ivory sales to fund the conflict. Only 10% of the elephants in the region survived. 

Elephants without tusks are of no use to poachers, and, as a seeming result, a once-rare gene mutation has become more prevalent in female African elephants during periods of heavy poaching, since elephants without ivory tusks are more likely to pass on this trait. Tooth-building genes are likely involved in this occurrence and, if it’s present in male elephants of both species, it’s fatal. According to the study, about half of male African elephant calves with a tuskless mother will have this abnormality, which causes them to develop improperly in utero. Luckily, this problem is potentially reversible with time. 

Both African and Asian elephants are endangered, but the current decreases are (as of yet) not as severe as they were 40-50 years ago. Given that, researchers believe the mutation will become less prevalent as conservation efforts improve. For more information, you can read the paper here: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abe7389

Photo of Rana and Mara, who have tushes instead of tusks