Tanzania: Government Shocked Over Increased Tuskless Elephants

[nngu007]

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

Source:Daily News

 

[Mag3]

With a light touch - The answer to this lies on evolution or rather the passing of phenotypic traits from parents to their offspring through heredity. Now consider this scenario...the parents have no tasks and so baby elephants are being born without tusks! How did they lose their tusks in the first place and where was the Govt? Well, the Govt never came to the elephant's rescue when they needed it and it is even suspected the Govt had an hand in the loss of tusks and now, wow! The same Govt is shocked over the increase of tuskless elephants! How ironic!