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An African elephant in Tanzania, with visible tusks. Tusks are elongated, continuously growing front teeth that protrude well beyond the mouth of certain mammal species. They are most commonly canine teeth, as with narwhals, chevrotains, musk deer, water deer, muntjac, pigs, peccaries, hippopotamuses and walruses, or, in the case of elephants, elongated incisors.
Traditionally, male and female African elephants possess tusks, while only some male Asian elephants have prominent tusks. Smaller tusks can be found in both female and male Asian elephants.
Men with elephant tusks at Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, c. 1900. The poaching of elephants for their ivory, meat and hides has been one of the major threats to their existence. [149] Historically, numerous cultures made ornaments and other works of art from elephant ivory, and its use was comparable to that of gold. [151]
In 2013, over 20,000 African elephants were killed for their ivory. The slaughter of African elephants is driven by the black market value of elephant ivory. The illicit trade in ivory is primarily in Asia where ivory sells for several thousands of dollars per kilogram. [8] Satao's tusks were estimated to weigh more than 100 pounds (45 kg) each.
Tusks are continuously growing incisors. Typically, adult elephant teeth comprise 12 premolars, 12 molars, and two tusks. These twin teeth are composed of four layers, the outermost being the enamel.
Between 1976 and 1980, about 830 t (820 long tons; 910 short tons) raw ivory was exported from Africa to Hong Kong and Japan, equivalent to tusks of about 222,000 African elephants. [60] The first continental elephant census was carried out in 1976. At the time, 1.34 million elephants were estimated to range over 7,300,000 km 2 (2,800,000 sq mi ...
When looking at an African elephant and an Asian elephant side-by-side, you can really tell the differences in their head shapes and tasks. African elephants generally have much larger tusks than ...
A larger tusk measuring 2.96 metres (9.7 ft) long and weighing 70 kilograms (150 lb) has been recorded, but this may belong to a forest-bush elephant hybrid. The average tusk size is uncertain due to measurements historically being lumped in with those of African bush elephants, but based on the sizes of the largest known tusks may be in the ...