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Selection of Tuskless Elephants

6 minutes 39 seconds

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A herd of elephants. Caption: Some elephant populations seem to be missing their tusks.

Working in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique, Dr. Joyce Poole and colleagues make a striking observation: many female elephants lack tusks. Elephant tusks are important for obtaining food and water, and essential to male elephants for competing for mates. There is a strong natural selection for having tusks; however, Dr. Poole has discovered the proportion of tuskless elephants has increased in some populations. She explains possible reasons for the increase in the number of elephants lacking tusks.

Media Details

Runtime: 6 minutes 39 seconds

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