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Tanzania: Govt Shocked Over Increased Tuskless Elephants

By Christopher Majaliwa


Dodoma — THE Ministry of Tourism and Natural Resources will in 2015/2016 fiscal year allocate funds for research aimed at finding the reasons leading to the increase of tuskless elephants in Tanzanian national parks.

The Ministry's Deputy Minister, Mr Mahmoud Mgimwa, said that a number of elephants without tusks is emerging at alarming rate thus such research was vital.

Mr Mgimwa made the remarks before the House here as he was responding to Mr Rajab Mbarouk Mohamed's (Ole-CUF) question that pressed for reasons leading to such shocking news. Mr Mohamed linked the situation with rampant elephant poaching that the country is experiencing.

"Due to the increase of poaching activities in our national parks and games, we are now experiencing even a number of elephants without tusks increasing," he said, asking the minister to give the reasons that make such tuskless elephants increase in number.

Mr Mgimwa noted that Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI) had already embarked on some preliminary researches to discover why the situation prevailed. He, however, said that preliminary findings have it that tuskless elephants were not poachers target, thus possibility of increasing in number was so high compared to those with tusks.

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Govt probing increase in tuskless elephants

BY LUSEKELO PHILEMON

28th January 2015

Deputy Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Mahmoud Hassan Mgimwa has said the government is set to carry-out extensive research, which is geared to find reasons behind the increasing number of tusk-less elephants in the country’s national parks.

The Deputy Minister was when responding to a question by Ole MP, Rajab Mbarouk Mohamed (CUF), who wanted to know the government’s research strategies on finding the scale of the problem and the remedial measures.

Responding, the minister said all elephants after birth were without tusks, but after 18 months a male elephant gets its tusks while a female one gets it at between 24 and 30 months.
“However, DNA tests carried out had shown that some elephants fail to develop tusks.”

“It is true there are reports which show the increasing number of elephants which have no tusks in our national parks. Right now, the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI) is carrying-out ongoing research on the reasons as to why there is an increasing number of tusk-less elephants in our parks, particularly in the national parks within Mikumi, Ruaha and Katavi.”

He however revealed that a survey which has been carried out in Mikumi National Park in 2014 (January, February,May and June) involved 16 groups of 59 jumbos.

According to Mgimwa, a total of 950 jumbos (an average of six elephants per group), which is about 10.21 per cent of elephants which were tusk-less.
“This number is within the normal boundary of tusk-less elephants in other African countries which are from 2 per cent to 20 percent,” the minister said.

He said preliminary investigations show that there is increasing number of tusk-less elephants.

“But, the study was only meant to prove the reports on the increasing number of tusk-less elephants and wasn’t meant to show that the increase was because of poaching in our national parks, and also it wasn’t meant to show the scale of the problem across the country and its impact.”

“By using this preliminary survey, the government will set aside a certain amount of money for carrying-out extensive study to find out the reasons for the increasing number tusk-less elephants,” the minister said.

Mgimwa revealed that in the past, game rangers used to kill elephants which have no tusks, “but we stopped that and this might be the reason for the increasing number tusk-less elephants.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

When they kill off nearly all elephants with a tusk....that's all you will have left eventually.....Tuskless.

I have said to many of my clients in the last couple years: "What used to be an elephant's curse (being tuskless).... is now a great blessing".

If I were an elephant, I would go to the dentist & have my tusk removed therefore increasing my lifespan possibilities.

SHOCKED! SHOCKED!

How come every Tom Dick and Harry knew this would happen years ago??

survival of the fittest?

survival of the least wanted....

The African countries that have tuskless on quota have made the correct move in doing so as being genetic, will reproduce and one of the reasons why TZ in particular is riddled with tuskless elephants.

""Mgimwa revealed that in the past, game rangers used to kill elephants which have no tusks, but we stopped that and this might be the reason for the increasing number tusk-less elephants"". ...... (a practice adopted during the colonial era).

On behalf of many who are ignorant, or let's say, less well-informed, I wish to ask few questions that, if answered by some well-informed AR members, will help shed light on this problem.

Methinks that everyone is aware that "tusklessness" is a genetic trait.

(i) What is known about the "tuskless" gene(s)? Recessive, or dominant?

(ii) What is known about the "carriers" of the tuskless gene(s)? Males, females, or both?

(iii) Are there any true tuskless bull elephant to be found?

Truth is that if tusklessness is genetically determined, AND it is really an undesirable situation to have significantly more than "normal" tuskless genes in any elephant population, then management can only be successful by preventing a very significant percentage of the carriers of these genes from breeding. That, I believe, will be a very difficult task without resorting to some form of selectively killing the existing tuskless elephant, and so preventing those carriers from carrying there "undesirable" genes into the next population.

Please don't kill the messenger, but just answer the questions, if you can really shed some light on the issue.

In good hunting.