[NEWS]Tuskless elephants evolve in China
The following article/writings do not necessarily reflect the opinions or beliefs of Visionary Music or Shapeshifter. The are offered to you so that you may discern what holds truth for you and to increase your knowledge and awareness of the topics/subjects related to DNA Activation, ascension and planetary evolution. These articles have been submitted to us, passed around the web or found during research. When available we have used appropriate credit lines and added URLs so that you can contact the authors. If you find any articles that have been posted incorrectly or without permission, contact us at evolve@visionarymusic and let us know. It is not our intent to infringe on any copyright laws, just to share the information for the upliftment of the planet.
Sun Jul 17, 3:59 AM ET
BEIJING, July 17 (AFP) - A recent study has predicted that more male Asian elephants in China will be born without tusks because poaching of tusked elephants is reducing the gene pool, the China Daily reported Sunday.
The study, conducted in the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture in southwest China's Yunnan province, where two-thirds of China's Asian elephants live, found that the tuskless phenomenon is spreading, the report said.
The tusk-free gene, which is found in between two and five percent of male Asian elephants, has increased to between five percent and 10 percent in elephants in China, according to Zhang Li, an associate professor of zoology at Beijing Normal University.
"This decrease in the number of elephants born with tusks shows the poaching pressure for ivory on the animal," said Zhang, whose research team has been studying elephants since 1999 at a reserve in Xishuangbanna.
Only male elephants have tusks, which are said to be a symbol of masculinity and a weapon to fight for territory. However, due to poaching for ivory, the elephants' pride has become a death sentence, the report said.
"The larger tusks the male elephant has, the more likely it will be shot by poachers," said Zhang. "Therefore, the ones without tusks survive, preserving the tuskless gene in the species."
A similar decline in elephants with tusks has been seen in Uganda, which experienced heavy poaching in the 1970s and '80s, the report said.
However, Zhang's findings of the spread of the tuskless gene due to poaching must be -*test*-('")ed, according to some academics.
"This is, of course, a possibility, but till now there is no clear genetic proof that it can occur," Vivek Menon, executive director of the Wildlife Trust of India, was quoted as saying.
Rampant poaching of male elephants for tusks has also caused the female-to-male ratio to rise from the ideal 2:1 to 4:1 in China and 100:1 in India, the report said.
There are between 45,000 and 50,000 Asian elephants in 13 countries, including China and India. China only has about 250, according to the report.
China is among 160 nations which signed an international treaty administered since 1989 banning the trade in ivory and products of other endangered animals.
Nonetheless, four Asian elephants were found shot dead in China last year.
In addition to poaching, human activity that causes a loss of habitat also threatens the animals.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050717/sc_afp/chinaanimalselephant_050717075953
