More than 30,000 elephants are killed by poachers each year, driving the species closer to extinction while fueling the billion-dollar global ivory black market. While it is very difficult to catch ivory as it is imported, it is even harder to track down those responsible, often criminal organizations originating from rural Africa. With recent innovation in genetic technology, a paper from Nature details how genetic researchers along with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are using the same technology that was used to catch the Golden State Killer to monitor international wildlife trafficking organizations.
The forensic genetic technique they used is known as familial searching, where investigators can match an unknown individual’s DNA sample to a known genetic sample of a family member. This can link the unknown DNA to a match, and lead investigators to a conviction without first acquiring the suspect’s DNA. The researchers used this same process in their study but modified it for use in elephants instead of humans. When a shipment of illegal ivory was detected and confiscated, the team would analyze samples by cutting small pieces off and inspecting the elephant’s DNA. This would be cross-referenced with DNA from previously acquired samples, allowing researchers to compare and determine where the Ivory originated from.
Over the 17 year study, the researchers analyzed over 4,000 elephant tusks from 49 different confiscated shipments. This allowed Dr. Samuel Wasser, a conservation biologist at the University of Washington and an author of the paper, to build the robust database required for familial identification, and also obtain a large enough sample to acquire ivory from distinct elephant herds across Africa. While not every tusk in every shipment could be analyzed, due to the high cost of the DNA analysis process, Wasser developed a method to make sure a sound geographic representation of the shipment could be acquired. As more shipments are collected and analyzed, Wasser’s database will only grow and make it easier for investigators to convict ivory traffickers.
Using familial searching, Wasser and his team were able to identify 600 tusks and match their DNA to that of other seized shipments from around the world. This allowed investigators to combine known evidence, such as communication records and shipment orders, with the recently acquired DNA evidence to catch the organizations responsible for ivory trafficking.
Through this, the DHS was not only able to monitor the inner workings of the trafficking organizations, but also how their operations evolved over the study’s lifespan. The research showed how the same cartels have been operating the ivory trade for decades since elephants from the same area have been shipped and packed the same way for years. The study also showed how these rings evolved as trafficking laws became more strict, moving their exports from country to country, with investigators following them the entire way.
While this research is very promising when it comes to catching ivory traffickers, it also lays the groundwork for future investigations into other illegal trafficking operations, with the technology already being deployed for use in illegal timber and pangolin trades, with Wasser saying, “What we’ve learned from elephants has pioneered a whole new field of investigation.” Hopefully, this new era of genetic innovation leads to the capture of these illegal trafficking rings, allowing the population of the African elephant to rebound beyond near extinction.
Be First to Comment