How Dreaded Ivory Poaching Led to Evolution of Modern Tuskless Elephants

Researchers have discovered that decades of ivory hunting have resulted in tuskless elephants' development, demonstrating that people are "actually altering the anatomy" of wild creatures.

The researchers thought the phenomena had a genetic origin, and the fact that it was only seen in females showed it had something to do with sex. In addition, the researchers discovered a genetic difference between tusked and tuskless elephants after analyzing their genomes.

Researchers discovered two potential genes on the X chromosome, one of which is known to have a role in mammalian tooth formation. These genes are connected to an X-linked dominant condition in humans that causes lateral incisor development to be stunted.

Genetic Adaptation

Female elephants are protected from poaching by the probable mutation of one or more genes, while male elephants are killed because they do not grow correctly in the womb.

Tuskless Elephants

About half of male elephant calves born to a tuskless mother will have this genetic defect, meaning heavily poached elephant populations may be severely reduced in males. However, according to Pringle, this problem is reversible over time because populations have been rising for two decades and have more than quadrupled since they were on the verge of extinction in the 1990s.

"As a result, we expect this condition to become less common in our study group," he added, "given that the conservation picture remains as favorable as it has been previously." "There is a deluge of dismal news about biodiversity and people in the ecosystem, and I believe it is critical to emphasize that there are some bright spots in that picture."