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Learn about African elephant tusks. What are tusks? Why are they important? Why do we need to protect African elephants?
Both male and female African elephants have tusks, which are continuously growing teeth. Savanna elephants have curving tusks, while the tusks of forest elephants are straight.
6 Δεκ 2022 · How long can they grow? And do all elephants have them? Uncover the mysteries of elephant tusks by diving into this article! Here you’ll learn their purpose, size, growth tendencies, and even investigate the contentious issue behind ivory trading.
Both male and female African elephants have tusks that grow from deciduous teeth called tushes, which are replaced by tusks when calves are about one year old.
Elephant tusks are actually enlarged incisor teeth which first appear when elephants are around 2 years old. Tusks continue growing throughout their lives. Tusks are used to help with feeding - prising bark off trees or digging up roots - or as a defense when fighting.
Upper incisor teeth develop into tusks in African elephants and grow throughout their lifetime. There are two species of African elephants—the savanna (or bush) elephant and the forest elephant. Savanna elephants are larger than forest elephants, and their tusks curve outwards.
African elephants have recently been recognised as two distinct species: savannah elephant (Loxodonta africana) and forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). They are now categorised, respectively, as Endangered and Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
