What Are Elephant Tusks Used for?
Fotolia.com”> jQuery(document).ready(function(){ jQuery(‘#jsArticleStep1 span.image a:first’).attr(‘href’,’http://i.ehow.com/images/a06/80/r7/elephant-tusks-used-for_-1.1-800X800.jpg’); }); Elephant tusks grow as much as seven inches per year. 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. 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 us
