CURRENT EVENTS IN BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
SUMMER 2015
ARTICLE: DNA From Elephant Dung, Tusks Reveals Poaching Hot Spots
AUTHOR (S): Brooke Jarvis
PERIODICAL: N/A
DATE: June 18, 2015
WEBSITE ADDRESS: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/06/140618-elephants-ivory-dna-poaching-africa-science-world/
SUMMARY:
Samuel Wasser, from the Center for Conservation Biology at the University of Washington in Seattle, has spent the past 15 years comparing and matching DNA samples from elephant ivory and dung in an attempt to locate where the most poaching and smuggling is happening. This research led Wasser and his team to report that since 2006, the smuggled ivory has come from predominantly two areas: the combined region of southeast Tanzania and southwest
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African elephant ivory trading has been banned for twenty five years yet there is still a large market in Asia. Populations in Tanzania and Mozambique are still decreasing and the African forest elephants face extinction within the next ten years. But Wasser is not alone in the fight against the ivory trade; the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and other international focused bureaus and agencies have taken this issue on, and those agencies are using his research to put traffickers behind bars. The Seattle team received the ivory from Kilindi, and the sheer of amount of ivory means that it must have been distributed by organized crime networks. Because the ivory is professionally smuggled, there is no evidence to point to where the ivory comes from. Wasser knew that they needed to find out where this ivory was being poached, so he created contacts that would send him the dung of elephants. This gave them DNA of different elephant populations which they could compare to the ivory, and allowed him to discover the two places where they
Because of the sale of illegal ivory so many elephants' lives are put at risk. If the poaching of elephants and ever-growing trade in illegal ivory is to be seriously addressed, part of the solution to this complex problem must be a return to the full ban on the sale of ivory established in 1989 (Bloody Ivory). Between 434,000 and 684,000 African savanna elephants in 18 countries remain, down 30% in the last seven years. Once again levels of poaching and illegal trade have spiraled out of control. Rates of poaching are now the worst they have been since 1989. There are no easy answers, but a total ivory trade ban is the one strategy we know has worked (Mary Rice). Hong Kong seized 779 elephant tusks three days into 2013, over a ton of ivory,
First, animals in Togo have many adaptations that help them adapt them to their surroundings. It has many animals which are native, some oaf which may also be endangered. So some of the threating animals in Togo are the Africa Elephants, Cheetah. The Africa Elephants are endangered because Togo only has one thundered and fifth teen so its clear that ivory did not come from here but they did do the trade and had five hundred elephants killed. The cheetah is
In 1954, the world’s first successful kidney transplant between two live people took place. 30 years later, kidney transplantation was now common and acceptably safe, and in 1984, the sale of organs was banned through the National Organ Transplant Act, meaning any organ used may only be through donation. Under this act, however, only one person has ever be prosecuted for the brokering illegal organs. In the years since, illegal organ trafficking has sprung up in India, China, the US, Brazil, and South Africa with little to no real evidence of an end to the injustice it causes.
Yang Feng Glan, a 66 year old Chinese woman, and her nickname is the “Queen of Ivory”. Glan is in charge of the largest and sophisticated smuggling operations. Glan have been trafficking elephant tusk between East Africa and China over 15 years. Prosecutors says she’s Africa most notorious smuggler. Glan initially came to Tanzania as a Swahili Chinese translator in 1975, which was when the Chinese started construction of a railway in east Africa. Glan moved around eastern Africa, she started two business. One company called Beijing Great Wall Investment and an eatery called Beijing Restaurant. Yang used her restaurant as a cover up, she was sneaking Ivory from outside into her kitchen food shipments. Yang told Chinas daily newspaper that
Did you know that from 1979-1981 1.3 million elephants were poached? Because elephants have been over hunted, it is now illegal to hunt them. They are rarer. And the ecosystem is damaged. Animal poaching is extremely dangerous and remarkably illegal because, it leads to reduced legal hunting opportunity, and it hurts the ecosystem.
Tiger bones are supposed to cure arthritis, while pangolin and turtle shells are other classic remedies. Even the United State has seen the use of these treatments up close. Surprisingly, traces of tiger bone in medicine can be found in about 40% of small medicine stores (Congressional). However, not all consumers of a poached animals are seeking a healthier lifestyle. Some of the younger upperclass Chinese use tiger bone in products such as shampoo, wine, and soup as a declaration of their wealth. They buy expensive these products simply because they can afford to buy such expensive products. This certainly makes a statement, seeing that the bones of a Tiger can cost up to $7,000 in US dollars (Endangered). Nevertheless, the flaunting of status shouldn’t justify the murder of these elegant creatures. In the article “Endangered and in demand” the author explains:
Greed is embedded deep in our bones. It is an infinite cup inside ourselves that we desperately try to fill up, but we cannot. We stubbornly hold tight on our money, never bothering to look around and see what we are becoming. Mankind is overwhelmed by their innate greed and because of this, they go out of their way to earn money by maliciously mistreating and malevolently hunting elephants. Due to this flaw, many elephants die each day. Elephant poaching is undoubtedly deplorable and you as the United Nation must put your plan into action before these majestic animals are extinct. Not only is it illegal, but their existence is vital to the ecosystem and food chain, thus meaning that we must stop neglecting this problem.
Almost all elephants face habitat loss. When they lose their habitats, they are forced to move to another area which can lead them to dying because they are not used to that certain habitat. Hotter and drier climates make it harder to forage or find food, and threatens calf survival.
The reading talks about some methods for hunting elephants: such as digging ditches to catch elephants, make a tree trap, and use strategies. The consumer might not know how the process of ivory is. In medieval, some people claimed that the "helfent," when hunted, would fall down and break its bone, producing the rarity know as ivory. The article also briefly describes the role of the elephant in some medieval stories, and
In this lesson we watched a video about elephant slaughter and how people sale the Ivory illegally, and for a high price. Ivory is not only beautiful in its own nature but it is very expensive. But unfortunately if we don't stop killing elephants for their ivory they will be extinct in the next 10 years. We also read an article about the same topic, each one has different information about the same topic. The video helps you visualize the article, and the article gives you more information about the video. Multimedia has both pros and cons but both have all the information on the topic. There are advantages and disadvantage to both the video and article.
Poaching, many animal species have been wiped off the face of the planet due to this illegal crime. Poaching has wiped off many animals including Giant Deer and the Glyptodonts. Pushing these animals to near extinction also causes ripples in the food chain. Even poaching these animals near to extinction causes side effects. Even some of the most cute and cuddly animals such as the Gorilla, Tiger, Rhino, Lemur, Elephant and Sea Turtle are near extinction. Poachers are one of the most deadly enemies to elephants and Rhinos. The most comprehensive survey to date stated that 100,000 African elephants were poached across the continent between 2010 and 2012. According to those figures, in 2011 alone poachers killed roughly one in every 12 African
This problem has grown more so in Africa, in the last three years (Starmer-Smith, Jackman, 2012). In 1990, poaching became such a problem, that nationally, elephant populations were being threatened with extinction, because of the ivory from their tusks (Starmer-Smith, Jackman, 2012). However, now, more recently, Black-market prices have risen to those from 1980, for rhino horns (Starmer-Smith, Jackman, 2012). According to African Wildlife Fund, over nine hundred rhinos have been poached in the last three years, and also state that at this rate no rhino will be left by 2025. (Starmer-Smith, Jackman, 2012) These effects, such as that of extinction are long-term effects caused by hunting, or poaching. Other examples of long-term effects are because of elephant poaching, for instance the number of tusk-less animals have increased, as well as, hunting of bighorn sheep has caused their horn to become up to twenty-five percent smaller in the last forty years. (PeTA,
“From killing just one deer over the legal bag limit to harvesting tons of animal parts, poaching in any form is illegal and laws are getting tougher to discourage it. If convicted, you can now be charged with a felony and be sent to prison. All across the world citizens and law enforcement officials are working together to combat this problem” (Simon Shadow).
Tens of thousands are being killed every year for their ivory tusks. Which are illegally bought and sold by criminals around the world. Leaders from across the world have met in Johannesburg in South Africa to discuss the future of the ivory trade, amongst other things. Many people believe that the ivory trade is largely responsible for the world's declining elephant numbers. Elephants and the ivory trade: The crisis in Africa
Poachers know they will always make money on tiger derivatives, because of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring program of WWF, are trying to find ways to discourage the use of tiger parts for medicinal purposes and encourage the use of effective substitutes. TRAFFIC has significantly extended its operation in Asia and Russia. According to researchers, “Russia has become the biggest supplier of Traditional Chinese Medicine trade and exports” (Field Projects). TRAFFIC investigations have led to numerous seizures such as, “tiger bones and skins, the arrest of an important smuggling gang, and the uncovering of illicit trade routes between India, Nepal, Bhutan, and East Asia” (Field Reports). WWF is also campaigning for strengthened national legislation to ban imports and sales of these medicines in