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Understanding the evolutionary consequences of wildlife exploitation is increasingly important as harvesting becomes more efficient. We examined the impacts of ivory poaching during the Mozambican Civil War (1977 to 1992) on the evolution of African savanna elephants ( Loxodonta africana ) in Gorongosa National Park. Poaching resulted in strong selection that favored tusklessness amid a rapid population decline. Survey data revealed tusk-inheritance patterns consistent with an X chromosome–linked dominant, male-lethal trait. Whole-genome scans implicated two candidate genes with known roles in mammalian tooth development ( AMELX and MEP1a ), including the formation of enamel, dentin, cementum, and the periodontium. One of these loci ( AMELX ) is associated with an X-linked dominant, male-lethal syndrome in humans that diminishes the growth of maxillary lateral incisors (homologous to elephant tusks). This study provides evidence for rapid, poaching-mediated selection for the loss of a prominent anatomical trait in a keystone species. 

As the human footprint expands worldwide, people and wildlife are coming into greater contact, and areas of human activity may be simultaneously associated with risk and reward for animals. To avoid human threats while exploiting opportunities, animals may adjust their spatiotemporal activity, using areas of anthropogenic disturbance at night when people are less active. We combined four camera trap datasets from Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park to evaluate the effects of roads and settlement on diel activity patterns of elephants (Loxodonta africana). We found high rates of elephant activity along the boundary of the park, where elephants can access cultivated crops, and along roads, which serve as movement corridors. However, elephants restricted their activity to the night and crepuscular periods in these areas of human disturbance, seeking refuge in the interior of the park away from roads and settlements during the day. Our findings suggest that a history of killing and antagonism has instilled a fear of humans in this elephant population, with implications for research, tourism and human–elephant coexistence. Our study highlights the utility of camera traps in monitoring human–wildlife conflict and habituation and demonstrates the value of integrating disparate camera trap datasets for comparative analyses on landscape or even continental scales.