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No word on when the religious jesus freaks in america will go to China to
kill the elephants to the destroy the evidence that contradicts their
pathetic illusions.
Tuskless elephants evolving in China due to poaching 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 tested, 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.
No word on when the religious jesus freaks in america will go to China to
kill the elephants to the destroy the evidence that contradicts their
pathetic illusions.
Tuskless elephants evolving in China due to poaching 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 tested, 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.
an.2005.07.18.21.39.18.967942@*.net...
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