Why More Elephants in India Are Being Born Without Tusks?

SAIKAT K BASU

Across parts of India, wildlife biologists are documenting a striking shift in one of the Asian elephant’s most iconic features: tusks. Increasingly, male Asian elephant are being born without tusks—a natural condition known as “makhna”—and the pattern appears to be accelerating in regions long affected by ivory poaching. This article examines emerging evidence that intense, decades-long hunting for ivory has imposed strong selective pressure on elephant populations, disproportionately removing tusked males from the gene pool and allowing tuskless traits to proliferate. Drawing on field data, historical records, and interviews with conservation scientists, the piece explores how human activity may be reshaping elephant morphology in real time. It also considers the ecological and behavioral consequences of tusklessness, from altered social dynamics to changes in foraging, and assesses what this trend signals for the future management and genetic resilience of India’s remaining wild herds.

(Bones of Indian elephant with magnificent tusk kept at a museum)

Vanishing tusks: What It means for elephants?

Elephants don’t all randomly develop tusks — having tusks (or not) comes down to genetics. In African elephants, tusklessness was historically rare. But in areas where poachers selectively killed elephants with tusks, individuals that were born without tusks had a survival advantage because they were less likely to be shot for their ivory. Over generations, their genes became more common. This is a classic case of human-driven natural selection (or “harvest selection”).

Elephants without tusks: Adaptation or alarm signal

Where poaching for ivory has been intense — for example during wars or heavy illegal ivory trade — large-tusked elephants were killed preferentially. That removes tusk-genes from the breeding population, leaving tuskless elephants to survive and reproduce. Over time, the proportion of tuskless individuals in that population increases. This effect has been well documented in African elephant populations (for example in Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park), where females born after periods of intense poaching are much more likely to be tuskless than older generations.

Ivory poaching and the rise of tuskless elephants in India

Asian elephants (Elephas maximus, the species in India) naturally have an interesting tusk pattern. Most females don’t grow long tusks at all (they have tiny tushes at best). Among males, some grow tusks (“tuskers”) and others don’t (“makhnas”). The proportion of makhnas varies by region. This variation existed historically, but human pressures have pushed certain populations further toward tusklessness by selectively removing tusked males through capture for work or poaching over many generations. In northeast India (e.g., Assam), historical records and studies suggest a much higher proportion of tuskless males (makhnas) than in southern India; likely because tusked bulls were hunted or captured over many centuries.

Aside from selective killing, environmental pressures like habitat fragmentation and reduced food availability might favor animals with smaller bodies or tusks, though this is a less well-studied factor. The tuskless trait didn’t arise because of poaching, but poaching increased how common it became: There were always rare tuskless elephants. Poachers didn’t mutate the genes; they left tuskless elephants alive, so they passed on those genes more frequently.

The evolution of survival: Tuskless elephants in modern India

Elephant tusks are integraly associated with feeding and foraging changes. Tusks are used to strip bark from trees, digging for water during dry seasons, for uppprooing shrubs, anf for moving logs and branches. Tuskless males (“makhnas”) must rely more on their trunks and feet; and on smaller trees and softer vegetation. The possible effects could be less bark-stripping damage on large trees, different plant species surviving in higher numbers, and shifts in forest composition over decades. In areas where many elephants are tuskless, forests may slowly look different because elephants are major ecosystem engineers.

Social and dominance dynamics are related to elephant tusks. In male Asian elephants large tusks often signal strength and maturity.  Tusked bulls may have advantages in fights for mates. Hence, if more males are tuskless then dominance may depend more on body size, age, and aggression. Mating competition patterns could shift with genetic diversity may be narrow if fewer tusked males breed. However, tusklessness does not mean weaker; some makhnas are extremely dominant.

A genetic response to poaching? India’s increasing tuskless elephant populations

Elephants are sometimes called “forest architects.” With tusks they open pathways through dense vegetation, create water access points, knock down trees that allow sunlight to reach the forest floor. If tusk use declines, then possibly forest density could increase with fewer open clearings may form. Many other species (deer, birds, insects) may be indirectly affected. These changes happen slowly — over decades. These can be views as, "Ecosystem Engineering Impact". 

When humans selectively remove tusked males the gene pool shifts toward tusklessness. Reduced genetic variation can make populations more vulnerable to disease or environmental change. In parts of India, such as Assam- historical hunting and capture may have already influenced tusk frequencies. One impirtant question to ask is whether tusklessness “Good” or “Bad”? It’s neither — it’s evolution responding to human pressure. In short term tuskless elephants are less likely to be killed for ivory. This is one of the clearest modern examples of human-driven evolution happening in real time. If ivory pressure decreases consistently, over many generations, tusks could become more common again — but evolution.

The silent shift: Tuskless elephants and India’s wildlife future

1. Selective removal of elephants with tusks (especially males for ivory or capture) has changed the genetic makeup of some populations over generations.

2. More tuskless elephants are now born simply because those without tusks had higher survival and reproduction rates in heavily hunted areas.

3. In Asian elephants (India), tusklessness in males was historically common in places — and human activity has maintained or increased that trend.