As poaching rises, DNA analysis may be critical for elephant conservation.

AuthorParr, Laura
PositionEYE ON EARTH

Over the past year, unprecedented numbers of African elephants have been slaughtered for their tusks, according to reports. Between August 2005 and August 2006, authorities worldwide seized more than 24 tons of smuggled elephant ivory en route to the Far East alone, though actual poaching levels are believed to be much higher. In a recent study, Samuel Wasser, director of the Center for Conservation Biology at the University of Washington, and his colleagues concluded that because customs agents typically detect only about 10 percent of all contraband, the real ivory toll may top 240 tons, representing 23,000 elephants or roughly 5 percent of Africa's total elephant population.

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Analysts attribute rising death rates to weak enforcement of the worldwide ban on international ivory sales, adopted in 1989 under the auspices of the United Nations' Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). In its early years, the ban was considered largely effective due to heightened public attention to the ivory trade and government funding for anti-poaching efforts. Elephant populations rebounded substantially, especially in southern Africa. But in recent years as exceptions to the ban have grown and funding has dried up, the illegal killings have resumed.

Ivory markets shrank considerably in the United States and Europe following the ban, but in East Asia the demand for ivory jewelry and other products remains high. The average...

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