July 19, 2005 — A recent study has predicted that more male Asian elephants in China will be born without tusks because poaching of tusked elephants is reducing the gene pool, the China Daily reported Sunday.

The study, conducted in the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture in southwest China's Yunnan province, where two-thirds of China's Asian elephants live, found that the "tuskless" phenomenon is spreading, the report said.

The tusk-free gene, which is found in between two and five percent of male Asian elephants, has increased to between five percent and 10 percent in elephants in China, according to Zhang Li, an associate professor of zoology at Beijing Normal University.

"This decrease in the number of elephants born with tusks shows the poaching pressure for ivory on the animal," said Zhang, whose research team has been studying elephants since 1999 at a reserve in Xishuangbanna.

Only male elephants have tusks, which are said to be a symbol of masculinity and a weapon to fight for territory. However, due to poaching for ivory, the elephants' pride has become a death sentence, the report said.

"The larger tusks the male elephant has, the more likely it will be shot by poachers," said Zhang. "Therefore, the ones without tusks survive, preserving the tuskless gene in the species."

A similar decline in elephants with tusks has been seen in Uganda, which experienced heavy poaching in the 1970s and 1980s, the report said.

However, Zhang's findings of the spread of the tuskless gene due to poaching must be tested, according to some academics.

"This is, of course, a possibility, but till now there is no clear genetic proof that it can occur," Vivek Menon, executive director of the Wildlife Trust of India, was quoted as saying.

Rampant poaching of male elephants for tusks has also caused the female-to-male ratio to rise from the ideal 2:1 to 4:1 in China and 100:1 in India, the report said.

There are between 45,000 and 50,000 Asian elephants in 13 countries, including China and India. China only has about 250, according to the report.

China is among 160 nations which signed an international treaty administered since 1989 banning the trade in ivory and products of other endangered animals.

Nonetheless, four Asian elephants were found shot dead in China last year.

In addition to poaching, human activity that causes a loss of habitat also threatens the animals.

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Name: Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus)
Primary Classification: Proboscidea (Elephants)
Location: India and Southeast Asia.
Habitat: Mainly tropical scrub forest. Also thick jungle and savannah.
Diet: Mainly grasses. Also bark, roots, leaves, fruits, vines, shrubs and tree stems.
Size: Up to 21 ft in length, 10 ft in height and 5.5 tons in weight.
Description: Grayish to brown in color; sparse, coarse body hair; thick, dry skin; long trunk with single, finger-like projection; two bumps on forehead; columnar legs; large, fan-like ears; males have two long, ivory tusks.
Cool Facts: An adult consumes more than 500 lbs of vegetation in a single day. Its trunk, which contains up to 100,000 muscles, can inhale and spray water, lift heavy objects, grasp small objects and detect minor variations in heat and texture.
Conservation Status: Endangered
Major Threats: Habitat loss and poaching.
What Can I Do?: Visit the Elephant Help Project and Friends of the Asian Elephant for information on how you can help.

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