ELEPHANTS are being born without tusks after decades of brutal poaching in Africa.

       Researchers at Princeton University found the genetic condition in Gorongosa National Park in central Mozambique is no longer rare.

       3

       Researchers found that half of female elephants in the park are now naturally tuskless Credit: AP 3

       Poachers slaughtered around 90 per cent of Mozambique's elephant population to fund a civil war Credit: AP

       Around 90 per cent of the country’s elephant population were slaughtered between 1977 to 1992 by Kalashnikov-wielding hunters who wanted the ivory to fund a civil war.

       Half of the female elephants are now naturally tuskless - it was previously less than a fifth.

       The trait is only seen in female elephants, and is thought to be caused by a mutation in the X chromosome which is fatal to male elephants in the womb.

       As with human traits such as eye colour, genes are responsible whether or not tusks are passed down to the offspring of the parents.

       Elephants who did not have tusks were left alone by the poachers, so increasing the chances they would breed and pass on the genes to offspring.

       Researchers have now published their findings in Scientist magazine after the genomes of both tusked and tusk-free elephants were compared.

       Most read in The Sun

       'MY HEART IS BROKEN' Alec breaks silence after accidentally shooting crew member dead

       Exclusive

       Nervy wait Peter Andre’s Covid results revealed after being seriously ill

       DEATH RIDDLE Mystery of Brit family found dead on hiking trail finally solved

       PROP HORROR Alec Baldwin in tears after accidentally shooting dead cinematographer on set

       Exclusive

       ROYAL SHOCK Queen, 95, spends night in HOSPITAL after cancelling Northern Ireland trip

       Exclusive

       TRAGIC Alec Baldwin accidentally shoots crew member dead on set as director left 'critical'

       Co-author Professor Robert Pringle, from Princeton University, indicated the findings could have a variety of long-term effects for the animals.

       Prof Pringle noted that because the tuskless trait was fatal to male offspring, it was possible that fewer elephants would be born overall.

       This, in turn, could slow the recovery of the species, which now stands at just over 700 in the park.

       "Tusklessness might be advantageous during a war," Professor Pringle said. "But that comes at a cost."

       He also noted the changes could also affect the landscape, as the study revealed the tusked and tuskless elephants ate different plants.

       Prof Pringle though stressed that the trait was reversible over time as populations recovered from the verge of becoming extinct.

       "So we actually expect that this syndrome will decrease in frequency in our study population, provided that the conservation picture continues to stay as positive as it has been recently," he said.

       "There's such a blizzard of depressing news about biodiversity and humans in the environment and I think it's important to emphasise that there are some bright spots in that picture."

       3

       Evolutionary biologist Shane Campbell-Staton examines a tuskless female elephant in the Gorongosa National Park exposing a space below the trunk where a tusk would normally appear Credit: AP

       Moment a mother elephant stamps a crocodile to death as it stalks her calf in Zambia

       We pay for your stories!

       Do you have a story for The Sun news desk?

       Email us at exclusive@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4104. You can WhatsApp us on 07423 720 250. We pay for videos too.

       Click here to upload yours.

       Click here to get The Sun newspaper delivered for FREE for the next six weeks.