Vanishing giants: Why Sri Lanka must protect its last wild tuskers — before it's too late

SRI Lanka's last wild tuskers — majestic, rare, and silently disappearing — are on the brink of vanishing forever.

- By Dilum Alagiyawanna

These giants once roamed in strength and abundance across the island, but now, only a handful remain in the wild. Their disappearance is not only a visual and cultural loss — it marks the impending extinction of the tusk gene from Sri Lanka's wild elephant population. If that happens, it will be an irreversible blow to the nation' biodiversity. Current data shows that fewer than 7-8% of wild male elephants in Sri Lanka have tusks, a drastic decline when compared to other Asian elephant populations such as those in India or Sumatra, where tusks are still common among mature bulls. In our case, centuries of human activity — including selective hunting, capture, ivory trade, and habitat restriction — have driven tuskers to near-extinction. Today, the few that remain are genetic outliers, and without focused protection, their legacy may soon be lost.

A genetic crisis in the making

Tusked elephants are not merely beautiful; they are biologically vital. The presence of tusks in Asian elephants is governed by a dominant autosomal gene, meaning it can be inherited from either the mother or the father. Unlike African elephants — where female tusklessness is tied to an X-linked gene — in Sri Lankan elephants, both males and females can carry and pass on the tusk gene.

There is, however, a widespread misconception that tusks are inherited only from the mother — likely influenced by research on African elephants. In Sri Lanka, this is scientifically inaccurate and dangerously misleading. Since the gene can come from either parent, each remaining tusker is essential for preserving the genetic possibility of tusk-bearing elephants in the future.