![\"Why](\"https:\/\/littlemedicalschool.com\/ottawa\/files\/2022\/04\/elephant1-300x218-1.jpeg\")
<\/span><\/h2>\nWhy do elephants have tusks?<\/span><\/h2>\nTusks are massive teeth (incisors) that grow beyond the mouth of the elephant. These ivory teeth are beautiful and essential for animal species’ survival. Tusks grow continuously throughout their lives, extending from deep within their upper jaw. Tusks grow to weigh more than 100 lb (45.35 Kgs).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWe also have incisors; they are the teeth at the front of our mouths, which we use for biting food.<\/span><\/p>\nTheir tusks aid them in carrying out tasks:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n- Digging for water or vital minerals in the ground,\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- Lifting objects,\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- Gathering food,\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- Stripping bark from trees to eat to secure fibrous food,\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- Defence,<\/span><\/li>\n
- Helping males compete for females,<\/span><\/li>\n
- The tusks also protect the trunk.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Just as humans are left or right-handed, elephants, too, are left tusked or right tusked. The dominant tusk gets wear and tear from frequent use.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nBoth male and female African elephants have tusks, while only male Asian elephants, and only a certain percentage of males today, have tusks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWhy are elephants evolving to be tuskless?\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\nHumans are attracted to the beautiful tusks of elephants. Since Ivory is the most highly prized material in the natural world, its demand has led to the deaths of thousands of elephants across Africa. Moreover, the only way that humans can get hold of their tusks is by killing them. Poachers kill 20,000 elephants per year for their tusks and trade them illegally in the international market. This trade is a wildlife crime. In the past, elephant tusks regularly weighed in at more than 200 lb (91 Kgs). Due to the extent of the poaching of elephants, the big-tusk gene has vanished from the population. Fifty percent of male elephants in the Asian population do not grow tusks at all. Animals with tusks that have the genes to grow tusks are removed from the population by poachers. Animals that do not have tusks survived because they do not appeal to the poachers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWhy do elephants have big ears?<\/span><\/h2>\n\u00a0Elephants’ ears are one of the ways to tell the difference between African and Asian elephants.<\/span><\/p>\nAsian elephants have smoother skin and smaller ears than African Elephants.<\/span><\/p>\nThe ears of African elephants can grow six feet (1.82 m) and 4 feet (1.21 m) wide. They resemble the shape of the African continent. On the other hand, the ears of the Asian elephants are round shape.<\/span><\/p>\nElephant ears help them stay cool!<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\nThe reason why Asian and African elephants have different ear sizes has to do with their habitats. African elephants live in extreme temperature environments and savannas and need protection from the sun. On the other hand, Asian elephants live in shady forests where they do not see sunlight.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nTherefore, they have big ears to help them stay cool. They are huge, which means they produce a lot of body heat. They must have a very efficient way to get rid of their extra body heat. Unlike the human body, the animal body cannot sweat to keep him cool. Luckily, they come with a built-in solution: big, floppy ears.<\/span><\/p>\nThousands of blood vessels make up the animal’s ears. These vessels are thin and close to the skin. They allow the excess body heat to escape the elephant\u2019s body and regulate their body temperature.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nAnother reason why they have big ears is to use their ears as fans to cool off their bodies. Their ears can cool their body by up to 5\u00b0 Celcius (that is 9\u00b0 Fahrenheit)!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nExperiment time:<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n- Hold an ice cube in the palm of your hand. It will start to melt.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Heat flows from an area of high heat to another of low heat.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThe ice cube is not making your hand cold. In reality, the heat from your hand is making the ice cube warmer. So, that’s why it melts.<\/span><\/p>\nThis is exactly what happens in the elephant’s ears when the elephant’s body temperature is greater than the temperature of his surroundings, heat is released from the ears.<\/span><\/p>\nElephants’ ears help them hear long distances and therefore communicate!<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
Tusks are massive teeth (incisors) that grow beyond the mouth of the elephant. These ivory teeth are beautiful and essential for animal species’ survival. Tusks grow continuously throughout their lives, extending from deep within their upper jaw. Tusks grow to weigh more than 100 lb (45.35 Kgs).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n We also have incisors; they are the teeth at the front of our mouths, which we use for biting food.<\/span><\/p>\n Their tusks aid them in carrying out tasks:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Just as humans are left or right-handed, elephants, too, are left tusked or right tusked. The dominant tusk gets wear and tear from frequent use.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Both male and female African elephants have tusks, while only male Asian elephants, and only a certain percentage of males today, have tusks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Humans are attracted to the beautiful tusks of elephants. Since Ivory is the most highly prized material in the natural world, its demand has led to the deaths of thousands of elephants across Africa. Moreover, the only way that humans can get hold of their tusks is by killing them. Poachers kill 20,000 elephants per year for their tusks and trade them illegally in the international market. This trade is a wildlife crime. In the past, elephant tusks regularly weighed in at more than 200 lb (91 Kgs). Due to the extent of the poaching of elephants, the big-tusk gene has vanished from the population. Fifty percent of male elephants in the Asian population do not grow tusks at all. Animals with tusks that have the genes to grow tusks are removed from the population by poachers. Animals that do not have tusks survived because they do not appeal to the poachers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0Elephants’ ears are one of the ways to tell the difference between African and Asian elephants.<\/span><\/p>\n Asian elephants have smoother skin and smaller ears than African Elephants.<\/span><\/p>\n The ears of African elephants can grow six feet (1.82 m) and 4 feet (1.21 m) wide. They resemble the shape of the African continent. On the other hand, the ears of the Asian elephants are round shape.<\/span><\/p>\n The reason why Asian and African elephants have different ear sizes has to do with their habitats. African elephants live in extreme temperature environments and savannas and need protection from the sun. On the other hand, Asian elephants live in shady forests where they do not see sunlight.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Therefore, they have big ears to help them stay cool. They are huge, which means they produce a lot of body heat. They must have a very efficient way to get rid of their extra body heat. Unlike the human body, the animal body cannot sweat to keep him cool. Luckily, they come with a built-in solution: big, floppy ears.<\/span><\/p>\n Thousands of blood vessels make up the animal’s ears. These vessels are thin and close to the skin. They allow the excess body heat to escape the elephant\u2019s body and regulate their body temperature.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Another reason why they have big ears is to use their ears as fans to cool off their bodies. Their ears can cool their body by up to 5\u00b0 Celcius (that is 9\u00b0 Fahrenheit)!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Heat flows from an area of high heat to another of low heat.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The ice cube is not making your hand cold. In reality, the heat from your hand is making the ice cube warmer. So, that’s why it melts.<\/span><\/p>\n This is exactly what happens in the elephant’s ears when the elephant’s body temperature is greater than the temperature of his surroundings, heat is released from the ears.<\/span><\/p>\n\n
Why are elephants evolving to be tuskless?\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n
Why do elephants have big ears?<\/span><\/h2>\n
Elephant ears help them stay cool!<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
Experiment time:<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n
Elephants’ ears help them hear long distances and therefore communicate!<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"Why](\"https:\/\/littlemedicalschool.com\/ottawa\/files\/2022\/04\/trunk-2-193x300-1.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Why](\"https:\/\/littlemedicalschool.com\/ottawa\/files\/2022\/04\/Elephants-are-endagered-300x144-1.png\")
<\/span><\/h2>\n