The evolution of elephants without Tusk
date
Oct 17, 2020
type
Post
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elephants-without-tusks
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Published
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science
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How human actions are altering animal anatomy.
Last updated
Dec 13, 2022 05:23 PM
We as humans have been known to be the sole reasons for lots of genetic anomalies or evolution in animals and insects due to our involvement in their environment and living conditions. Sometimes it can be a a positive outcome for the species in question. For example, wolves in the wild have realised that they have a much better chance of surviving the wild especially in the winter if they stick with the humans. As a result of their evolution and years of domestic breeding, we currently have dogs that are considered as mans best friends. In this case there is no negative impact to the species in question due to our involvement. It simply resulted in a new branch of species being evolved due to our involvement. The wolves still exist in the wild.
Its not always this case when it comes to Human Intervention, as we know from the alarming changes to the climate and the global temperature. Relentless hunting of the elephants for their Tusk or (ivory) over the decades have caused them to evolve in a way we have never imagined them to. More and more female Elephants are now being born in the wild without tusks.
In other words, human actions are literally changing the anatomy of wild animals.
It’s often to difficult to underestimate how grave of a problem it is from their perspective. The tusks are their major tool for a lots of their activities from, gathering food to defending themselves and also as a protection of their trunk, which is another valuable tool for breathing, drinking and eating.
This is not something that just affects the Elephants alone. Elephants use their tusk to create new spaces for other grassland plants and species. The absence of a tusk will result in a complete behaviour shifts for them. As a result tusklessness can change elephant behaviour as well as their diets that is important for the ecosystem at large.
Because elephants are keystone species, changes in their diet can change the whole landscape.
This is the haunting example of “how human activity is changing the evolutionary trajectory of species all across the tree of life”. Humans are the most influential evolutionary pressure in history besides the five major mass extinction events.