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You may be surprised to find out how many animals have tusks. First, we need to know the difference between tusks and horns. Canines are the front teeth of mammals that protrude from the mouth and continue to grow throughout the animal’s life. The horns protrude from the head of the animal and consist of a bone core covered with keratin. The horns on the nose of a rhino are slightly different in that they are made of keratin without a bone base. Horns not only differ from canines, but also differ from horns in that they do not lose or grow back. Listed below are seven animals that have tusks:
1. Common warthog
Gifted with a face only a mother can love, this member of the Suidae family is found throughout much of Sub-Saharan Africa. Its head, disproportionately large compared to the rest, bears not only tusks, but also facial warts or warts. Moreover, the animal has not one, but two pairs of tusks. Males use their upper canines in ritual combat with other males, but are wary of using their lower canines as this could cause serious injury. Tusks are 10 to 25 inches long in boars and smaller in sows.
Read here to learn more about the warthog.
2. Elephants
The magnificent tusks of elephants, especially the African elephant, have been the deaths of too many of them. Elephant tusks are made of ivory, which is made from the same materials that human teeth are made of, namely dentin and enamel. The problem with elephants is that there are simply a lot more of them, and people have been craving this for centuries.
The tusks of the African elephant are slightly curved and can grow to nearly 11.5 feet in length. They are used to dig, lift, pluck bark from trees, fight and protect the trunk of an elephant. Interestingly, an elephant can have both a right and a left tusk, just as a person can have a right-handed or left-handed person. You can tell which tusk the elephant prefers because it will be more worn out than the other.
Although African elephants of both genders have tusks, Asian elephants only have tusks in males. However, due to intensive poaching, more and more African elephants are born that do not develop long tusks. This is due to the fact that animals with the longest tusks are removed from the gene pool.
Read here, here and here to learn more about elephants.
3. Walruses
The walrus that lives off the shores and on the ice floes of the Arctic Ocean is the only pinniped with fangs. In a large male, these tusks can reach 3.25 feet and weigh 12 pounds. Females also have tusks, but they are shorter. Fangs are used to dig holes on ice floes and help the animal to get out of the water onto the same ice floes. Sailors used walrus tusks, among other sources of sea ivory, to create the mesh.
More information about walruses can be found here.
4. Narwhal
Most creatures with tusks have at least one pair, but a narwhal only has one tusk. The male of this whale, even north of the walrus, has a single tusk that grows on the left side of his face. indeed, it is the upper canine that runs through the upper lip and has a clockwise spiral. A narwhal’s canine tooth, which is hollow, can reach 10 feet in length and weigh 22 pounds. From time to time, a female with a tusk or a male with a pair is found.
Males use their canine teeth to mate with each other during mating, although some scientists believe that males actually exchange information as the canine is full of nerves. Narwhals also use the tusk to punch holes in the ice or search for prey on the seabed. They also use it to stun prey like sea fish. The whale has no other real teeth besides the tusk. Narwhals often swim in packs and have a wide range of sounds to warn each other about predators and to search for prey.
Check out here to learn more about narwhals.
5. Deer
The idea that a deer has tusks may sound strange, but water deer, water chevrotan and musk deer have tusks. These small deer not only have fangs, but also lack antlers, as if nature is conservative with its gifts. These deer were given the nickname “Vampire Deer”. Muntjac, which lives in southern Asia, also has rather enlarged canines, which biologists hesitate to call real tusks, as well as horns.
To be honest, biologists are not entirely sure that musk deer, one of the seven species of this genus musk a real deer. He not only has fangs and horns, but also a gall bladder, which other deer do not have. Females have only one pair of nipples, while males have a musky gland, the secretion of which humans crave. These deer are found in Asia, and the tusks, like the musk glands, belong to the males. These are the upper incisors that grow up to 4 inches in length.
Chevroten, also called mouse deer due to its tiny size, is also very similar to a deer. About the size of a large rabbit, it is a cute little animal with deer spots and stripes on the brownish-red ground that camouflage it as it moves through the rainforests of Africa.
Found like musk deer in Asia, the male water deer also has prominent fangs and no antlers. This creature belongs to the Cervidae family, therefore it is considered a real deer, like the muntjac. It has powerful hind legs, so when it runs away it jumps away like a rabbit. What’s interesting and rather disturbing about the fangs of this deer is that they can be pulled in and out like the fangs of the vampire from myth and legend. For example, a male will pull his fangs to eat, but show them to a male rival.
Read here and here to learn more about these animals.
6. Belt-toothed whale.
This common billed whale, which can grow up to 20 feet, lives in the colder parts of the southern oceans. It is easily recognizable by its black and white coloring. The beak is white, on the face there is a black mask, on the throat there is a white spot and a white cape, stretching from the crown almost to the small dorsal fin. There is also a white spot on the belly. The rest of the animal is glossy blue-black.
But in addition to color, this animal is distinguished by the tusks of the male. These tusks grow on each side of the animal’s lower jaw. Eventually, they grow out of the mouth and pull back at a 45-degree angle until they touch or overlap at their ends. The ends of these tusks are rather lobed with small teeth. If you are wondering how an animal can open its mouth to eat, the answer is that it cannot open its mouth very wide if its canines are well developed. The male has to suck food in with its beak, but two overlapping canines help guide food.
Read here to learn more about whales.
7. Babirus
This wild pig is found in the rainforest and along the freshwater bodies of Sulawesi and the surrounding islands. It is slightly more pig-like than its warthog cousin, and also has a pair of pairs of canine teeth. The difference is that the upper canines of the male babirus are not even in the mouth, but grow from the side of the upper jaw until they pierce the upper part of the muzzle. They then bend backward until they form a kind of cell on the face of the babirus. Upper tusks are found in at least one species. They can grow so large that they can pierce the skull or eyes of the animal. Not only that, but babirus boars also have lower fangs that protrude through their mouth. The tusks gave the animal its name, which translates as “stag-pig”, because the fangs are so long and curved that they look like antlers on the muzzle.
To find out more about Babirus, go here.
Next Up: Baby Gorilla: 9 Facts and 9 Images
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