Evolving Outrageously Quickly: The Tuskless Elephant

[blessmycottonsocks]

BBC report that, as a direct result of poachers slaughtering elephants for their tusks, the tuskless gene is spreading rapidly amongst Mozambique's remaining elephant population.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-59008037

 

[Kondoru]

How quick is quick?

Elephants breed slowly.

And tuskless is not uncommon, -many Indian ones lack tusks.

 

[CarlosTheDJ]

The gene is spreading quickly because the tuskless elephants are still alive to breed and the tusked are not. Evolution doesn't have to take thousands of years.

 

[Nosmo King]

The gene is spreading quickly because the tuskless elephants are still alive to breed and the tusked are not. Evolution doesn't have to take thousands of years.

Technically it more like involuntary selective breeding than evolution

 

[Swifty]

Technically it more like involuntary selective breeding than evolution

But wouldn't an elephant who's had it's tusks cut off still pass on any tusks genes anyway during conception? .. maybe elephants don't find tusk-less elephants attractive enough to mate with?.

 

[Nosmo King]

But wouldn't an elephant who's had it's tusks cut off still pass on any tusks genes anyway during conception? .. maybe elephants don't find tusk-less elephants attractive enough to mate with?.

Yes, however the elephants that are the most common are the one with the genetic disorder which stops them growing tusks, as the tusked elephants are killed in order to take their tusks, by poachers

 

[Kondoru]

Try cutting off a Peacocks tail.

"I'm washing my hair tonight" says the Peahen, -even if he's the only guy available.

 

[blessmycottonsocks]

The gene is spreading quickly because the tuskless elephants are still alive to breed and the tusked are not. Evolution doesn't have to take thousands of years.

Exactly as per @CarlosTheDJ post.
The minority of elephants, which were naturally tuskless, were ignored by the poachers and so were more likely to survive and pass on their genes to the next generation.
In a mere three decades, the tuskless minority has become the majority.

 

[Cloudbusting]

BBC report that, as a direct result of poachers slaughtering elephants for their tusks, the tuskless gene is spreading rapidly amongst Mozambique's remaining elephant population.

View attachment 47033

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-59008037

Part of me is happy that these elephants will not be targeted by poachers. Nevertheless I find this utterly depressing.

 

[bugmum]

But wouldn't an elephant who's had it's tusks cut off still pass on any tusks genes anyway during conception? .. maybe elephants don't find tusk-less elephants attractive enough to mate with?.

The article said that only female elephants can be tussles, the mutation is lethal to males in utero. Hence there could be problems further down the road anyway.

 

[Fluttermoth]

Technically it more like involuntary selective breeding than evolution

The definition of evolution is a change in frequency of alleles (variant gene versions) in a population, this is evolution.