A summer spent in the Sub-Saharan African country of Tanzania gave me the opportunity to experience a world outside my own, a world with a new culture, different foods, many interactions, and most interestingly, a diverse set of animals.  I was able to get an inside look on the beauty and horrors of Africa's wildlife. Truly a wonder to see through one’s very own eyes the innocence wildlife has within a habitat. While on the safari I learned that both the elephant and rhino population were at a constant rate of decrease due to poachers. This was severity that a simple question such as “Is there any rhino in this park?” or “Could you show me where the rhinos are?” could label you as a poacher. I thought to myself, “this isn’t my problem, I do not live in Africa.” But matter of fact, it is my problem, it is the world’s problem. No one will realize this major problem until it is bigger, when there is no longer anything we can do about it and it is out of reach. Illegal ivory trade is the reason for the constant decreasing elephant population due to several aspects focused on human’s as a natural predator, the lack of government intervention, the economic income illegal ivory poaching brings in, and hunting as a whole. The only way to save the sub-Sharan African Elephant population is by completely putting an end to ivory trade.

What is ivory? Ivory is the substance an elephant’s tusks are made out of, which are also the teeth of elephants. Ivory can be used to create various decorative items as well as jewelry. Ivory is sought after for its “allure of ‘white gold’” (Strauss) as well as the social status tag that comes along with it (Strauss). 

The sub-Saharan African elephant population has been at a decreasing rate due to the constant increase of demand for ivory. “Illegal Killing for Ivory Drives Global Decline in African Elephants” is a study that analyzes the relationship between the illegal trade of ivory and the declination of the elephant species (Wittemyer). The declination of the elephant population coincides with the rapid increase of demand for ivory, “as much as 80% of the ivory on the world market in any given year is believed to be acquired illegally” due to the black market (Wittemyer).  

Bans against ivory trade have been set in place since the early 1900s, yet have not made a strong impact on illegal ivory trade. A specific example that focuses on the issues that follow legal troubles with ivory poaching can be seen as talked about in “Organized Poaching in Kitui District: A Failure in District Authority 1900 to 1960”. Throughout the 1900s the Kitui District in Kenya struggled with abiding by the laws of ivory poaching, as they were unable to stop illegal ivory poaching and the illegal trade of ivory (Stone). The Kitui Kamba group, the dominant group within the Kitui District, hunted for the economic income ivory that was gained after being sold to Asians living on the coast. For 60 years the Kitui district government was unable to stop illegal trade of ivory poaching, “district officials failed to study the nature of organized poaching in regard to its economic roots (Stone).  “Organized poaching grew from a mere nuisance to a complex problem in organized crime, and unable to cope with it, British authorities passed it on to their African successors” which can still be seen as a continuum in the 21st society as the issue keeps getting handed down to the next generation (Booth). This is not to say that only the Kitui District was the only area that struggled with following the bans of illegal ivory poaching and trade during this time period, yet this gives insight as to how one specific area can effect ivory poaching and the elephant population drastically. “Elephant Treaties: The Colonial Legacy of the Biodiversity Crisis” focuses on the claim that “today’s biodiversity crisis is rooted in European colonial history, especially in conservation treaties that colonial powers negotiated to protect Africa’s big game animals (Adam). It argues the faults in CITES “an extension of colonial hunting and trade agreements designed in particular to ensure an abundance of African elephants for the ivory trade” as a main focus as to why the elephant population is declining (Adam).  The legal aspect that follows illegal ivory trade has been a major factor in the declination of the Sub-Saharan African elephant since the late 1800s, “poaching… did cause the eradication of many game animals, notably rhinoceros and elephants” producing long term affects which are still present in the twenty-first century (Stone). 

Another factor is hunting as a whole as seen in “Extraordinary elephant perception” that aruges is on behalf of a study that concluded elephants have adapted to humans as a natural predator by looking “how wild African elephants in Amboseli National Park, in Kenya, reacted to potential threats posed by two different human ethnic groups” (Plotnik).  The elephant’s specific reactions to the different tones of males within the different ethnic groups, produced the argument that the elephant animal species has adapted its natural behavior to include humans as a dangerous predator. Although the two ethnic groups used in the study have no correlation to groups of poachers, it is an overall adaptation to humans as natural predators. Hunting wildlife leads to a slow decrease in a species population. When hunting turns from enjoyment to hunting big game animals, such as lions, elephants, and rhinos, way to gain a hefty economic income the effects are more severe. “Mixed Signals from Hunting Rare Wildlife” talks about hunting species as a whole in which some are led to extinction or are slowly going down that path. The letter talks about the severity of hunting for wildlife as a whole, but the elephant species to give a direct example. It is argued that hunting big game animals is a problem, not only for the oblivious reason of hunting, an extreme decrease in the population of a species leading to the possibility of distinction, but also “hunting can change population structure, as well as species distribution, and morphology” producing negative effects on the environment and its inhibitors of where the species resides (Buckley). Hunting big game animals can be seen positive from some view points and negative in others, such as hunting for protection vs. hunting for the economic income and enjoyment, “the pros and cons of commercial sport hunting tourism of species at risk are debated principally in terms of local economic or ecological mechanisms, which remain important” ultimately being translated into issues seen with hunting big game animals leading to the development of laws against hunting (Buckley). As talked about in the previous paragraph there are many laws set on hunting big game animals depending upon the country (ETC), yet there are implications that come along with, “legal hunting also complicates monitoring and controlling international illegal trade in animal’s parts” where these laws are then redeveloped to focus on stopping the root of illegal ivory trade (Buckley). 

Illegal Trade in Wildlife provides an interesting look at the topic through a case study of African Ivory Trade to claim that the reason why poachers hunt for elephants is solely for the economic income showing the relationship between the constant rising price of ivory and the constant declination of the population of elephants in sub-Sahara Africa. The case study provides the audience that “the elephant population has dwindled from roughly 1.2 million in the 1970s to less than 500,00 today” (Grante), which has continued to fall to 419,000 in only six years later in 2015 due to poaching in sub-Sharan countries (Strauss). The reason why poachers hunt elephants for their ivory is solely for the economic income they make. “Ivory is not cheap, because the constant decrease in population coincides with prices rising from $200 per kilogram by 2004, to as much as $900 per kilogram in 2009” (Grante). This argument can refer back to the Kitui Kamba Group of the Kitui District in Kenya that hunted for ivory for the sole economic income ivory brought to the table. 

In hopes to put an end to all illegal ivory trade in order to save the sub-Saharan African elephant drastic measures need to be taken. The recent article “China Bans Its Ivory Trade, Moving Against Elephant Poaching” in the New York Times announces a step in the right direction for the ban of ivory trade. China announced on December 30, 2016 that the country will enforce a ban of ivory will by the end of 2017. This would be a huge deal as “it would shut down the world’s largest ivory market” as well as aid in the protection of African elephants (Wong and Gettleman).  As stated in the NY Times Article, China acquires more than 50% to 70% of all smuggled elephant ivory on the black market to produce goods. The ivory ban will produce a positive effect on the African elephant population as there has been more than 100,000 elephants slaughtered in the last 10 years in the sub-Saharan region due to high ivory demand. “Kenya’s new front in poaching battle: ‘the future is in the hands of our communities” helps see the root of ivory poaching with help of an understanding of a personal account of Abdi Ali a poacher from northern Kenya who became a full-time poacher at the young age of 14 (Vaughan). The article argues that the future of the population of elephants and illegal ivory trade is in the hands of the communities “who play a factor in the network of organized crime that is destroying Africa’s wildlife” (Vaughn). Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, a privately owned and well-armed cattle ranch that was transformed into a safe haven for many endangered animals such as elephants, cheetahs, black rhino (Vaughn). Between 2010 and 2013 Lewa lost 17 rhinos due to poaching before its high security operation, since then Lewa has not lost a rhino as drastic measures were taken. Here shows the problem at hand taken seriously and fixed for the good of the environment. As Kenya was hit by a poaching surge in 2012 and 2013 that resulted in the loss of more elephants and rhino that any time in the past two decades, is taking the problem seriously. In April of 2016, Kenya burned the largest ever ivory stock pile highlighting elephants’ fate, producing “a new wildlife law that can inflict a maximum penalty of life imprisonment for poachers” (Vaughn). If ivory poaching was handled as Lewa handled poaching of the conservation’s rhinos than there would simply be an ending to sub-Saharan African elephants.  

Ivory poaching has led to the illegal trade of ivory on the black markets by poachers. With that being said there is an argument at hand that poaching has drastically affected the sub-Saharan African elephant. There are many factors as to how ivory poaching has had a drastic role in the decrease of population such as human’s as a natural predator, the lack of government intervention, the economic income illegal ivory poaching brings in, and hunting as whole. People can argue that there is nothing to be done to stop the illegal act of ivory poaching, yet how would one feel if someone argued one could not stop the illegal act of murder? The issue of ivory poaching is in the hands of the world and if not acted upon soon consequences will have to be faced resulting in a loss of one of the world’s most magnificent species.  
