What Are Elephant Tusks Used for?

Elephant tusks can grow to up to 10 feet long, although it is rare to see an elephant with such long tusks. Technically elongated incisors, tusks are used as an aid in eating, resting and fighting. The market value of ivory from tusks has also contributed to the mass extermination of certain species of elephants.

  1. Tusk Development

    • The tusks elephants are born with are milk teeth and fall out after about a year, much like human teeth. The permanent tusks don't start to appear beyond the elephant's lips until it is about two or three years old. Tusks grow up to seven inches per year, but elephants typically wear down or break their tusks over the years, generally preferring one tusk over the other. The preferred tusk, known as the master tusk, is usually the shorter one, because it is worn down from constant use.

    General Uses

    • Elephants predominately use their tusks to ward off predators. Male elephants, whose tusks are longer, use them in battles against sexual competitors or to attract the interest of females. Tusk uses also include digging water, stripping the bark off trees, foraging and as a headrest. Animals in captivity have been trained to lift heavy objects with their tusks.

    Attraction to Poachers

    • The demand for the ivory from elephants' tusks has made it difficult for the animals to live outside of designated preserves. Prized for its luster, durability and color, ivory is really not much different than regular tooth bone. It has been used in jewelry, figurines and piano keys. Harvesting ivory generally requires the elephant to be killed to extract the part that grows from the skull below the skin line. To discourage elephant poaching, importing ivory, including antiques, from Asian and African elephants has been generally prohibited.