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Biggest, Heaviest Tusks & Horns
Biggest, Heaviest Tusks & Horns
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Biggest, Heaviest Tusks & Horns
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The heaviest tusk for the African elephant was stated as 3.45 meters long and weighed about 117 kg. Is that accurate?
Considered that the Mammoth tuks were usually longer than that, but they rarely exceeded 90 kg. Also, most modern African bulls rarely have their tusk exceeding 45 kg. 
http://www.canadafossils.com/mammothtusk.php
This source states the heaviest mammoth tusk they found was 111 kg. Depending on the age of a fossil, some bone density must be lost by the time the fossil is found. Though if the average mammoth tusk is 15 kg heavier than the average elephant tusk, I'd expect the heaviest mammoth tusk to relate similarly. What is the source of the elephant tusk?
Here is iSilo, and he was the largest tusker in the modern era, and each of his tusks (more than 8 foot long) may weigh up to 50kg or more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKLGnPaPySo (03-10-2015, 07:23 AM)'tigerluver' Wrote: http://www.canadafossils.com/mammothtusk.php Here is the quote. http://www.earthlife.net/mammals/elephants.html BTW, the fossil could have been a major factor here, just as the tiger subfossil teeth were also proportionally lighter than the fresh ones.
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/colu...uest_x.htm
This source cites the heaviest pair of tusks weighing 209 kg from an old bull in 1897. (03-10-2015, 08:53 AM)'tigerluver' Wrote: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/colu...uest_x.htm Do you think those 19th century records were reliable? 
"DUKE" was once Krugerpark's biggest Elephant. He is dead now.
The tusks of this male were said to be 3m long each.
AHMED THE ELEPHANT OF MARSABIT
Ahmed of Marsabit was and still is the most famous Elephant ever to have roamed the African continent. The territory around Mount Marsabit in Kenya may always have been renowned for its extraordinary tuskers, yet this particular ”Bwana Tembo” eclipses all predecessors. Born in 1919, Ahmed came from the forests of Mount Marsabit and grew to become a truly unique giant, justifiably known by the natives and big game hunters alike, as the "King of Marsabit". *This image is copyright of its original author In 1970, in order to protect him from poachers, former President of Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta, placed the Elephant under his protection by presidential decree, an unparalleled occurrence in the history of the country and the only Elephant to be declared a living monument. The giant was watched over day and night by two hunters against poachers. A loner and quite elusive, Ahmed was seldom seen and was known better by reputation than by sight. One morning in 1974, after having waited in vain for their charge to reappear from the copse he had disappeared into the night before, his personal body guards decided to go and look for him. When they found Ahmed dead, he was not lying on his side, but resting majestically on his famous tusks, half leaning against a tree. He was 55. While Ahmed was alive it was thought that his tusks were of record size but after his death his tusks were found to weigh only 67,2 kg (148 lbs) each. This is still no mean size but is far from some other tuskers. *This image is copyright of its original author *This image is copyright of its original author 
I once saw a Post on an Elephant who is thought to be the oldest living Indian Elephant and he had some massive Tusks as well. I couldn't find the picture and story behind him, but if anybody knows who I am talking about, i think his tusks should be included in this thread.
Nice Info btw  *This image is copyright of its original author Satao lived in Tsavo East National park in southeast Kenya and was celebrated as one of the last surviving great tuskers, bearers of genes that produce bull elephants with huge tusks reaching down to the ground. This news follows hard on the heels of the slaughter of another legendary tusker, Mountain Bull, deep inside the forests of Mt. Kenya .Of all the elephants that have died in Kenya, these deaths are the hardest to bear. The grief in Kenya at the slaughter of our iconic elephants is translating into floods of tears, emotional poems, and outrage on Twitter and Facebook.I had suspected for days that Satao was dead. The rumours were too many and they came from too many different people for them not to be true. Bad news travels fast in Kenya. Moreover, like everyone who had ever heard of Satao, I was already concerned for his safety.I first learned about Satao through an emotional and beautifully written blog post by Mark Deeble, who described him as being so intelligent that he knew he needed to protect his enormous tusks by intentionally hiding in bushes so they couldn’t be seen. At the end of the post Mark wrote:Quote:I am appalled at what that means – that the survival skills that the bull has painstakingly learnt over half a century have been rendered useless by the poachers’ use of mass-produced Chinese goods; GPS smart-phones, cheap motorcycles and night vision goggles. Quote:I think the old bull knows that poachers want his tusks, and I hate that he knows. Quote:More than anything, I hate the thought that poachers are now closing in on one of the world’s most iconic elephants.Then in early March, during the great elephant census, we heard that the poachers had got to him. Mike Chase from Elephants without Borders reported seeing two seeping wounds on Satao’s flank. Veterinarians rushed to the scene and confirmed that these were arrow wounds.Advertisement It’s hard to imagine what was going through the minds of the poachers on the day that they approached this mountain of an elephant and shot at him with crude bows and poisoned arrows. It must have been terrifying and yet the sight of his massive gleaming tusks probably left them salivating with greed.For days Satao must have endured excruciating pain from the festering wounds. But he recovered and we all heaved a sigh of relief when it was reported that his wounds were healing on their own. The Facebook post by Save the Elephants about his recovery attracted more 200 “get well soon” comments.Then in the first week of June Richard Moller, Executive Director of The Tsavo Trust, found a massive elephant carcass in a swamp. “I knew instinctively in my gut that this was Satao, but there was a tiny chance that I was wrong. I had to verify it before we go public,” Richard told me.The Tsavo Trust runs an inspirational campaign to bring attention to Kenya’s last great tuskers . Their work brings huge joy and celebration every time an elephant with tusks sweeping to the ground is found.When I heard that Satao may have been killed, I posted a message on Facebook. I said I hoped that the rumours were wrong and that Satao was safe. I had to hastily remove the post after Richard explained: “We don’t want to alarm people if there’s even a 1% chance that Satao is still alive”.For days Richard and (Kenyan Wildlife Service) KWS rangers visited the carcass. It was certainly a giant tusker, but it was hard to tell if this was Satao, as the face was mutilated face and the tusks gone. They flew over the park and searched for Satao, hoping against all odds that he was still alive.Then finally, yesterday on 12 June, Richard admitted to me that his first gut feeling had been right: Quote:Today I had to write my official report to KWS and confirm to them that Satao is dead. It was the hardest report that I have ever written, I couldn’t see past a wall of tears.In voice choked with grief he begged me not to post anything on this blog until KWS had officially broken the news.  *This image is copyright of its original author http://www.theguardian.com/environment/a...y-poachers  *This image is copyright of its original author The woolly mammoth was the last in the long line of mammoth species, believed to be related to the modern-day elephant. One of the more amazing attributes the woolly mammoth possesses is his gigantic tusks that they would use to not only dig and collect food, but intimidate enemies. But the remarkable part about the mammoth's tusks isn't so much its purpose, but the size of these things, often sixteen feet long. It's kind of rare one is found still in tact which makes a Siberian man's recent discovery all that much more incredible.Unearthed from a riverbed in Siberia, an image was posted to the internet of the man who found the tusk posing with the ancient artifcact. The comparative size is pretty incredible.  *This image is copyright of its original author Little information is given regarding the exact location in Siberia where the tusk was found or who the man is in the picture, but one Reddit commentor had a cool piece of information on how one could know more about a mammoth based on the tusk itself.Quote:Look at the 'rings' like a tree and figure out from growth patterns various things about their lives, like how many calves a female might have had during her life.No word if the tusk will be sold or donated, so I hope this guy will have it placed on the front of his car for the time being.Find me at @Todd_Spencesource: Reddit (03-11-2015, 12:37 AM)'Pckts' Wrote: I once saw a Post on an Elephant who is thought to be the oldest living Indian Elephant and he had some massive Tusks as well. I couldn't find the picture and story behind him, but if anybody knows who I am talking about, i think his tusks should be included in this thread. The tusks of the Asian elephant seem to be much lighter than that of the African elephant. Just like your Indochinese tiger's canine tooth is also proportionally lighter than that of the Amur tiger. (03-11-2015, 09:10 PM)'GrizzlyClaws' Wrote:(03-11-2015, 12:37 AM)'Pckts' Wrote: I once saw a Post on an Elephant who is thought to be the oldest living Indian Elephant and he had some massive Tusks as well. I couldn't find the picture and story behind him, but if anybody knows who I am talking about, i think his tusks should be included in this thread. What about Mammoth Tusk when compared to african Tusk? Proportionally of course. Are Asian Elephant tusk longer or shorter? Edit: I see that Mammoth tusk are lighter as well. I wonder if terrain has something to do with this? A lighter tusk would be benefit when trekking through snow or jungle I would think while a heavier tusk would not hurt the larger mammal as much in a plain setting. What about Jungle elephant to plain elephant in africa? Are their any difference in tusk weight or size when comparing them?
The Asian elephant tusk can also exceed 10 foot, but it usually weighs less than 50 kg, while the African one with the same length can sometimes exceed 100 kg. I don't know why there is a such huge discrepancy.
I can bring the analogy for the big cat tooth as well, since some species like the Amur tiger got its canine tooth as heavy as the orca tooth, while some other species not so much.
I can't say either way if 18th century records are completely reliable. At the same time, I don't want to throw out data.
Does anyone know reliable dimensional measurements of the elephants? Off height only on Wikipedia, the Asian elephant seems more dense kg/cm^3 wise, opposite to the tusk comparison. |
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