The bloody ivory hunt

Surely you have heard about the recent killing of elephants in Africa to take their fangs away.They have been authentic massacres the work of poachers, which we will deal with today in Science Daily Online .

The bloody ivory hunt

Poaching is illegally done, usually to endangered species or in areas where it simply cannot be their environmental and natural characteristics.In the case of ivory hunting, since 1989 there is an express prohibition of hunting African elephants to protect these splendid animals (the largest land mammals), which have been threatened to the point that some environmentalists they estimate that if drastic measures are not taken to stop the smuggling of ivory, the population of pachyderms will be history in a matter of a few years.In the 80s, the hunters killed more than half of the African elephants s .

And what happens? Why is ivory so valuable, who buys it? As in the case of numerous species, such as pangolin, the main market is the Asian , especially China and Japan, but of course it has always been used, since ancient Hebrew, Egyptian and Greco-Roman times : Phidias made his gigantic statues of Athena and Zeus (12 and 19 meters) with this material; Salomon, according to the Bible, sat on an ivory throne embedded in gold; the Egyptians used it as an ornament in halls and temples.The temple of Santa Sofia in Istanbul, now turned into a mosque, had bas-reliefs on the doors.Yes, ivory was and is an extraordinary material for making ornaments, furniture and all kinds of objects Let us not forget that before the invention of the plastic, the piano keys were made of ivory, the women of the well-off classes combed their hair with brushes and combs made of this bone and the gentlemen leaned on sticks whose tips could be imaginative forms also made of ivory.

The bloody ivory hunt

The problem, the real problem, is that the market has grown overwhelmingly, and the demands of ivory are getting bigger.To give you an idea, in 2014 they were killed 35,000 copies of beautiful elephants in Africa to remove their fangs...because, you know how How much does a kilo of this "white gold" cost, as collectors call it? By April 2015, a kilogram exceeded 1,000 dollars, and from a good elephant you can get 8 to 10,000 green notes , a quantity not negligible.

The bloody ivory hunt

Therefore, poachers are very well armed, prepared and ready for everything.So much so that they have even killed park guards in Cameroon, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and other African countries.The governments of these nations are trying to curb this illegal activity but simply the efforts are not They are enough.For its part, Cameroon implemented the military training of its rangers , extending the preparation time from 45 to 120 days.

In Kenya the situation is quite different.guards risk their lives, and lose them, to protect animals.To Philip Muruthi , director of the Foundation for the Protection of Wild life in Africa is a matter of sabotage:

“While this trade enriches a few criminals, it deprives countries of the billions of dollars that generates ecological tourism.”

In Kenya, tourism represents 20% of the country's gross domestic product, and elephants are one of the main attractions; attraction that quickly disappears.Every so often, a few days, there are hidden areas where you can see 15, 30, 50 or more dead elephants, with mutilated faces and without their valuable fangs.

The bloody ivory hunt

Apparently, Nigeria is the country where its marketing is concentrated, and receives the fangs from the countries of the region.In 2015 an inspection was carried out at the Lekki shopping center in Lagos, and they found more than 14,000 pieces, but in 2003, in a similar mission, they only found 4,000, indicating the brutal increase of this market.

It should also be noted that the problem has several angles: the inhabitants of the areas close to where the elephants are, are often affected because the animals pass through their houses and plantings, destroying everything in their path, and There have even been deaths of people.So, fed up with the elephants, they become complicit in the hunters, protect and hide them, generating a whole network sometimes impossible to track.

Environmental protection organizations and wildlife have tried to offer solutions to African states, such as including these inhabitants in the tourist market, and avoiding the propaganda, buying and selling of ivory objects, as well as higher levels of surveillance in airports and fronte flush to capture the smugglers and increase the sanctions against these criminals.

But one of the main things has not been done: raise awareness of the consumer market of the danger that this species runs and of the interrelation of elephants with the ecosystem: they clean the weeds and open roads for other animals, dig to find water in times of drought and transport seeds from the trees they feed on.

The bloody ivory hunt

Exhibition and sale of ivory items in the department store «China Arts&Crafts», in Hong Kong, 2013

Ivory should only be in the mouths of elephants.Otherwise, they will end up becoming extinct and will only be a memory you can see in museums.Check out our recent article, The Man Who Killed 40,000 Elephants by mistake.

Images: Piano Piano !, Global Panorama, International Fund for A nimal Welfare Animal Rescue Blog, Wikipedia

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