Skip to content

SciTech

Desert elephants - nature, nurture, and we love them anyway!

by Dave Armstrong 04 Aug 2016
Desert elephants - nature, nurture, and we love them anyway!

Is there time to play, if you are a little desert elephant in the middle of the Namib? Survival is the only game for these intrepid explorers and engineers of strategic waterholes. And then there are the hunters, keen to grab the longest ivories! Playing elephant image; Credit: © Shutterstock

Some things are more important than genetics. The memory of old African savannah elephants is legendary, especially with elephant graveyards where they seem to remember relatives with something similar to affection. The latest research on mtDNA passed on by these matriarchs admits that those distant memories are much more significant to survival than the admittedly essential genetic traits that can be passed on from the same individuals.

Yasuko Ishida and her colleagues from the Universities of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Washington, US, San Diego Zoo Global, Queens University in Ontario, the University of New South Wales and Elephant Human Relations Aid (EHRA) have produced the paper, Genetic connectivity across marginal habitats: the elephants of the Namib Desert in Ecology and Evolution. The Namib is a severe taskmaster. It requires the savannah elephant, Loxodonta africana, to be highly adaptive, existing on (the edge of the species comfort zone) where waterholes are so rare that they must be manufactured.

The results prove that the animals have to regularly shift their ranges in response to an intensive variability in the climate, global warming, and that inevitable hunting pressures we all recognise. This is the evolution of a capable mammal that is unspecialised in feeding and a long range migrater, to suit conditions that would defeat other individuals of the same species. Literally living on the edge of a vast desert and actually penetrating the arid conditions successfully, despite a lack of survival and reproductive conditions. The elephants have been observed performing amazing feats, including long distance migrations, here since 1793 (van Reenen and Pienaar,) although war and hunters have put paid to several local populations completely!

This research concentrated on checking the molecular genetic markers in order to see how diverse desert-adapted elephants need to be. Dung (with limited DNA quality) and skin samples were used from 6 geographic groups, including 2 desert populations. The only group that differed from the general Namibian standard were the Caprivi Strip population in the far NW of Namibia. These elephants are well-separated from all others and could be seen as long-isolated from other populations. They are not genetically distinctive to any degree of significance, but their maternal (mutating in isolation) mitochondrial DNA does not show the normal haplotypes that are found in all local nuclear DNA because of the roaming habits of male elephants.

Excluding these distinct animals, Namibian elephants do seem themselves to be genetically distinct and isolated to a small extent. 8 out of 9 haplotypes are unique to Namibia . Climate change is highly likely to have ravaged populations for thousands of years, especially in these extreme habitats, where dry periods have occurred 8000 years ago and 3500 years ago. These remarkable creatures are habitat engineers, enabling other species to find water especially, spreading seed of valuable colonisers and fertilizing the ground near waterholes. Even their tracks enable seedlings to survive the conditions better. Long ago we have had articles that show how elephants survive arid conditions, using sand and urine or a few gallons of water under their mouth and in this heat adaptation. However, this new and immensely valuable research indicates they really rely on memory alone for survival. No animals can find the waterholes that they remember over their long lives and pass on to daughters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Africa is obsessed with desert ecosystems and these great elephants are irreplaceable in their niche.

Hunters beware- this is the future that is being destroyed by unthinking guns.


Trending Eco-Friendly Clothing

Love My Planet Women's Relaxed Fit Hoodie
Earth
Quick Add
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Love My Planet Women's Relaxed Fit Hoodie
Love My Planet women's eco-friendly relaxed fit hoodieSize Guide Centimeters 8 10 12 14 16 18 Bust 84 88 92 97 103 108 Waist 66 70 75 80 85 91 Hips 91 95 99 104 109 116 Bust: Measure around the fullest part of...
£38.00
£38.00
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Penguins Hate Push-Ups Men's Pullover Hoodie
Earth
Quick Add
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Penguins Hate Push-Ups Men's Pullover Hoodie
Penguins Hate Push-Ups men's eco-friendly pullover HoodieSize Guide Centimeters XS S M L XL XXL Height 171 175 179 183 189 195 Chest 86 93 99 104 116 129 Waist 71 76 81 89 99 112 Chest: Measure all round your chest just below...
£38.00
£38.00
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Lightning Bolt Kids Long Sleeve T-Shirt
Earth
Quick Add
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Notify me
Lightning Bolt Kids Long Sleeve T-Shirt
Lightning Bolt kids eco-friendly long sleeve t-shirtSize Guide Centimeters 3-4yrs 5-6yrs 7-8yrs 9-10yrs 11-12yrs Height 98 112 125 136 147 Chest 60 66 70 75 84 Chest: Measure all around your chest just below your armpits. Height: Your natural height If you fall between...
£18.00
£18.00
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Notify me
Union Jack Tote Bag
Earth
Quick Add
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Union Jack Tote Bag
Union Jack eco-friendly colour tote bagProduct Specification Organic Cotton Tote Bag. Twill Weave (170gsm). 37 x 42 cm (7cm gusset.) Made in India / Designed on the Isle of Wight. Wash Cool, Hang Dry.
£16.00
£16.00
Close
Notify me
Notify me
Prev Post
Next Post

Eco-Friendly Shop

Women's Clothing

Eco-Friendly Clothing for Women Our online shop offers a wide range of sustainable women’s clothing products, including t-shirts, hoodies, vests, sweaters, shorts, and...
Shop Now

Men's Clothing

Eco-Friendly Clothing for Men Our online shop offers a wide range of sustainable men’s clothing products, including t-shirts, hoodies, vests, sweaters, shorts, and...
Shop Now

Kids Clothing

Eco-Friendly Clothes for Kids Our online shop offers a wide range of sustainable kids clothing products, including t-shirts, hoodies and jumpers. Our garments...
Shop Now
Someone recently bought a
[time] ago, from [location]

Thanks for subscribing!

This email has been registered!

Shop the look

Choose Options

Earth Times
Sign up for exclusive updates, new arrivals & insider only discounts

Recently Viewed

Edit Option
Back In Stock Notification
this is just a warning
Login
Shopping Cart
0 items

Before you leave...

Take 20% off your first order

20% off

Enter the code below at checkout to get 20% off your first order

CODESALE20

Continue Shopping