By Redaction ARPS Media with Frontiers and Others
Scientists at the University of Hong Kong have developed a method to distinguish between elephant ivory and mammoth ivory, a crucial step in law enforcement efforts to combat illegal ivory trafficking.
Despite a ban on the elephant ivory trade since 1989, around 20,000 African elephants are still killed annually for their tusks. Traffickers often misrepresent elephant ivory as mammoth ivory, which is legally traded.
The new technique relies on analyzing the isotopic signatures of water consumed by elephants and mammoths, allowing for the identification of the tusks. The goal is to provide a quick and cost-effective tool for law enforcement to combat the smuggling of ivory.
Elephant populations have declined significantly, from approximately 12 million a century ago to around 400,000 today.
