Poaching: The Elephant In The Room
Ivory seized from poachers in Garamba National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Flickr)
On February 12, anti-elephant poaching researchers announced that they had received genomic sequencing from 49 ivory seizures that occurred over the last ten years. By cross-referencing this DNA evidence with preexisting maps of elephant populations, researchers have been able to locate and expose transnational poaching rings that threaten ever-dwindling numbers of the endangered elephant.
Poaching networks are complex organizations, with local contacts aiding syndicates through resources and information. Once contraband has been moved to port cities and trade hubs, exporters move ivory out of the country and into the hands of buyers. The poaching industry is massive, with estimates placing its value between $70-213 billion a year. Processed ivory sells for about $730 per kilogram ($1609/lb).
Elephant tusks – the target of ivory poachers – are elephant teeth that continue to grow throughout their lifetimes. While tusks are external structures, about one third of their length is contained in the cranial cavity. Thus, elephant poachers often mutilate or even kill animals in order to harvest as much ivory as is possible. At least 20,000 African elephants are killed each year for their tusks.
Poaching does not only threaten endangered species, but it threatens regional governments and even human lives. Syndicate leaders encourage corruption, disrupt regional governments, and undermine the law. Every year, around 100 park rangers are killed in the line of duty. In order to develop these governments and heal elephant populations, putting an end to poaching and the the transnational ivory trade is key. The newest DNA-sequencing technique developed by anti-poaching researchers equips them to do just that.
By compiling genetic information from elephant feces collected across Africa, researchers have been able to map elephant families; when DNA taken from seized ivory shipments, it is cross-referenced with these existing maps, allowing researchers to learn where the elephants were poached. Researchers can then alert international law enforcement organizations of connections between seizures. Not only does this pinpoint where poachers are operating, but it also provides evidence for their future prosecution.
In a study published in the journal, “Nature Human Behavior” on February 14, co-author and professor at the University of Washington Samuel Wasser explained that research has located three of the main ivory export hubs on the continent: Kampala, Uganda; Lome, Togo; and Mombasa, Kenya. While ivory is rarely exported from the same country that it is poached, Wasser believes that targeting what he calls “choke points” – the aforementioned ivory export hubs – can take down the whole criminal organization.
While exact DNA matches – two tusks from the same elephant in different ivory shipments – are incredibly rare, sibling and half-sibling relationships can tie multiple ivory shipments from the same area together by elephant family.
Ivory poaching is an economic, political, and environmental chokepoint that strangles the development of the African countries from which elephants are found. As poachers damage the environment, foment corruption, and make a mockery of national and international law, they stunt the growth of struggling populations… both elephant and human alike.
