Namibia: Broken tusk
... this Desert Adapted Elephant in Etosha raises the question of how his tusk was broken
An elephant may break a tusk in a fight with another elephant, or, perhaps, while digging for minerals or prying the bark off of a tree.
Tusks are modified incisors (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incisor) and each tusk is embedded deep into the skull. A broken tusk does not cause a problem unless it breaks very close to the lip and exposes the large nerve that fills its cavity. Then the tooth may rotten and fall out.
This male has broken his left tusk almost to the lip. Tusks are said to grow about 2 cm per year, but records show that tusks that have been broken grow more rapidly and may grow back surprisingly quickly
Namibia: Broken tusk
... this Desert Adapted Elephant in Etosha raises the question of how his tusk was broken
An elephant may break a tusk in a fight with another elephant, or, perhaps, while digging for minerals or prying the bark off of a tree.
Tusks are modified incisors (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incisor) and each tusk is embedded deep into the skull. A broken tusk does not cause a problem unless it breaks very close to the lip and exposes the large nerve that fills its cavity. Then the tooth may rotten and fall out.
This male has broken his left tusk almost to the lip. Tusks are said to grow about 2 cm per year, but records show that tusks that have been broken grow more rapidly and may grow back surprisingly quickly