Pure Science : Tuskless females & dead males: how ivory poaching is driving evolution in elephants

During the Mozambique Civil War (1977-1992) the elephant population fell by 90% due to ivory poaching. As elephant populations recovered, many females were starting to be born naturally tuskless, while males were always tusked. ThePrint’s Sandhya Ramesh explains the findings from a new study that identify the key genes involved in this rapid evolution, and the culprit that is lethal to tuskless males, who are never born.