Depigmentation

Definition of Depigmentation

From the elephant glossary Section: genetics

This picture by Jutta Kirchner, photographer in Vienna Zoo, shows the Asian elephant cow Saba in Kolmarden, Sweden.

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Depigmentation is loss, or lack of color (pigment) from the skin, mucous membranes, hair, or retina of the eye. This lack of pigmentation can be influenced by genetics, nutrition, habitat and age.

As they age, Asian elephants lose some of the pigment in their skin, which causes them to look pink in some areas, most often on their Trunk, forehead and Ears.

Mostly some black areas will remain, as dots, from where hair grows, while theres no hair growth on the pink areas.

The condition is not seen in African elephants.

Comments by Dan Koehl After working more than 30 years with +65 elephants, during the close work with the elephant Saba in Kolmarden Zoo in 2008, I discovered that all hairs on forehead and base of the Trunk only grows at black/dark skin. Not a single hair grows on the pink area. But wheres theres small black points on the Trunk, theres also hair.

I guess its the same with all elephants with light or pale skin on the Trunk base, but I simply never discovered this fact before. I guess theres some connection between the hair sacks and the melanistic pigmentation, but Id sure be interested if anyone can give a scientific explanation on this one? So far, this has , to my knowledge, not been scientifically described.
Dan Koehl

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Depigmentation is mentioned on 1 elephant record pagesSaba,

Reference list Koehl, Dan, (2025). Depigmentation. Elephant Encyclopedia, available online retrieved 20 September 2021 at https://www.elephant.se/index.php?id=34. (archived at the Wayback machine)

Sources used for this article is among others:

https://elephantconservation.org/elephants/just-for-kids/

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Categories glossary | genetics

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