Researchers studying DNA from more than 4,000 elephant tusks in large ivory seizures have developed a new way to solve poaching mysteries and bring animal traffickers to justice.
It's estimated at least 10,000 African elephants are killed each year, with the ivory then packed into shipping containers and transported to ports throughout Africa.
Now, they've expanded the scope of that work, studying DNA from more than 4,000 tusks in 49 large ivory seizures. "When you see that connectivity, you're able to reach out to those other jurisdictions and say, 'Hey, look, through our DNA analysis we've identified a connection to your seizure,'" he said.
"If there's corruption in some of these areas where this illegal trafficking is occurring, then it becomes really difficult to even arrest or prosecute successfully," he said.
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