Why do Botswana elephants and other animals that has ivory like hippos and warthogs have small to reduced tusk?
Answer: Botswana is about 82 percent covered up by the Kalahari, of which the northern part is preferred by these animals. It is also dominated by the Kalahari sandveld that is poorly drained, and trace mineral elements do get leached in easily to the bottom. This will result in phosphorus deficiency in animals by having stiff sickness and botulism. In most cases when they lack of trace mineral elements from plants and grass, they will start eating bones – called ostiophagia – of which some of the bones will be infected.
This deficiency will accounts for the relatively small to reduced tusks in elephants, warthogs and hippos of Botswana as compared to those in West Africa.