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The 14-carbon in animal tissues records the time that the tissues are formed; since the 1960s, using the "bomb curve" for 14 C, the age of animal death can be determined accurately. Using animal tissue samples of known collection and formation dates for calibration, we determine the age of ivory samples from four ivory seizures made by law enforcement agencies between 2017 and 2019. The 14 C measurements from these seizures show that most ivory in the illegal wildlife trade is from animals from recent poaching activities. However, one seizure has a large fraction of ivory that is more than 30 y old, consistent with markings on the tusks indicating they were derived from a government stockpile.

To support efforts in prosecuting wildlife crimes, we developed and validated a multiplex High-Resolution Melt (M-HRM) assay for the identification of proboscidean taxa commonly required to be identified or excluded in ivory seizures and forensic casework: Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), African elephant (Loxodonta spp.), mammoth (Mammuthus spp.), and mastodon (Mammut spp.). Five hundred and fifty (550) blood, tissue, and ivory samples from individuals of these 4 proboscidean taxa were used to develop and validate the 2 proboscidean-specific mitochondrial sites targeted by this assay. The 28-basepair (bp) 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and 54-bp cytochrome b (Cytb) gene segments yield a combination of melt peaks that create composite melt profiles unique to each of the 4 proboscidean taxa. Wildlife forensic laboratories can use this sensitive, rapid, and cost-effective assay to assist efforts to combat the unlawful commercialization of proboscidean ivory and to stop the poaching crisis leading to the decline of these ivory-bearing species in the wild., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Can a regulated, legal market for wildlife products protect species threatened by poaching? It is one of the most controversial ideas in biodiversity conservation. Perhaps the most convincing reason for legalizing wildlife trade is that trade revenue could fund the protection and conservation of poached species. In this paper, we examine the possible poacher-population dynamic consequences of legal trade funding conservation. The model consists of a manager scavenging carcasses for wildlife product, who then sells the product, and directs a portion of the revenue towards funding anti-poaching law enforcement. Through a global analysis of the model, we derive the critical proportion of product the manager must scavenge, and the critical proportion of trade revenue the manager must allocate towards increased enforcement, in order for legal trade to lead to abundant long-term wildlife populations. We illustrate how the model could inform management with parameter values derived from the African elephant literature, under a hypothetical scenario where a manager scavenges elephant carcasses to sell ivory. We find that there is a large region of parameter space where populations go extinct under legal trade unless a significant portion of trade revenue is directed towards protecting populations from poaching. The model is general and therefore can be used as a starting point for exploring the consequences of funding many conservation programs using wildlife trade revenue., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Elephant populations have greatly reduced mainly due to illegal poaching for their ivory. The trade in elephant products is protected by national laws and CITES agreements to prevent them from further decline. For instance, in Thailand, it is illegal to trade ivory from African elephants; however, the law allows possession of ivory from Asian elephants if permission has been obtained from the authorities. As such, means of enforcement of legislation are needed to classify the legal status of seized ivory products. Many DNA-based techniques have been previously reported for this purpose, although all have a limit of detection not suitable for extremely degraded samples., Aim: We report an assay based on nested PCR followed by DGGE to confirm the legal or illegal status of seized ivory samples where it is assumed that the DNA will be highly degraded., Method and Results: The assay was tested on aged ivory from which the assay was tested for reproducibility, specificity, and, importantly, sensitivity. Blind testing showed 100% identification accuracy. Correct assignment in all 304 samples tested was achieved including confirmation of the legal status of 227 highly degraded, aged ivories, thus underlining the high sensitivity of the assay., Conclusion and Recommendation: The research output will be beneficial to analyze ivory casework samples in wildlife forensic laboratories.

Purpose: Surgical treatment of fractures has evolved with the development of anaesthesia in 1846. Experiments with different implants both organic and non-organic had led to introduction of sometimes extremely peculiar materials coming from different species like ox bone or elephant's ivory. The aim of this article is to present not widely known concept of ivory use in bone surgery that set its foot in the history of orthopaedics and laid foundations for orthobiologic reconstructions., Methods: Retrospective analysis of articles and books published between 1846 and 2017 that describe various examples of ivory application in the treatment of fresh fractures, non-unions and reconstruction of joints., Results: Our research shows that ivory to the surgical world was introduced by Friedrich Dieffenbach, founder of the modern plastic surgery. It was also used with different rate of success by many of the famous surgeons of the nineteenth and twentieth century to include Trendelenburg, Billroth, Volkmann, Paget and Hey Groves. Ivory was immensely popular in bone surgery and became material of choice demonstrating amazing biological properties and very low rate of infections., Conclusion: Ivory has served well in successful treatment of various orthopaedic conditions for over 100 years. In this article, we are using history as a stepping stone to examine material that is not rejected by the body and promotes bony healing without increased infection or other complications. It is worth considering further analysis of historically acquired specimens for further development of materials for further orthopaedic fracture and reconstructive techniques.

The illegal ivory trade continues to drive elephant poaching. Large ivory seizures in Africa and Asia are still commonplace. Wildlife forensics is recognised as a key enforcement tool to combat this trade. However, the time and resources required to effectively test large ivory seizures is often prohibitive. This limits or delays testing, which may impede investigations and/or prosecutions. Typically, DNA analysis of an ivory seizure involves pairing and sorting the tusks, sampling the tusks, powdering the sample, decalcification, then DNA extraction. Here, we optimize the most time-consuming components of this process: sampling and decalcification. Firstly, using simulations, we demonstrate that tusks do not need to be paired to ensure an adequate number of unique elephants are sampled in a large seizure. Secondly, we determined that directly powdering the ivory using a Dremel drill with a high-speed cutter bit, instead of cutting the ivory with a circular saw and subsequently powdering the sample in liquid nitrogen with a freezer mill, produces comparable results. Finally, we optimized a rapid 2 -h decalcification protocol that produces comparable results to a standard 3-day protocol. We tested/optimised the protocols on 33 raw and worked ivory samples, and demonstrated their utility on a case study, successfully identifying 94% of samples taken from 123 tusks. Using these new rapid protocols, the entire sampling and DNA extraction process takes less than one day and requires less-expensive equipment. We expect that the implementation of these rapid protocols will promote more consistent and timely testing of ivory seizures suitable for enforcement action., (Copyright © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Illegal trading of ivory is mainly responsible for the dramatic decline in elephant populations. Thailand is one of the largest laundering hotspots for African ivory, as the domestic Asian elephant ivory can be legally traded. So, to help combat ivory poaching and smuggling, an efficient method is needed to identify the elephant species from its ivory and ivory products. In this study, a mini-SNaPshot ® multiplex assay was developed and fully validated for the identification of confiscated ivory and low DNA template ivory products. Elephantid- and elephant species-specific mitochondrial single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified from 207 mammalian and 1705 elephant/mammoth cytochrome b sequence alignments. Seven informative SNPs were used for assay development. The assay unambiguously and accurately identified authentic elephant ivory and its species of origin on the basis of peak size and color observed in the haplotype profile. The assay was highly efficient for analysis of confiscated ivory and low-template ivory products with a 99.29% success rate (N=140). It was highly reproducible, exhibited no cross-reaction with eight other mammalian DNA; and had 100% identification accuracy. In addition, nested and direct PCR amplification were also compatible with the developed assay. This efficient assay should benefit wildlife forensic laboratories and aid in the prosecution of elephant-related crimes., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Despite continuous conservation efforts by national and international organizations, the populations of the three extant elephant species are still dramatically declining due to the illegal trade in ivory leading to the killing of elephants. A requirement to aid investigations and prosecutions is the accurate identification of the elephant species from which the ivory was removed. We report on the development of the first fully validated multiplex PCR-electrophoresis assay for ivory DNA analysis that can be used as a screening or confirmatory test. SNPs from the NADH dehydrogenase 5 and cytochrome b gene loci were identified and used in the development of the assay. The three extant elephant species could be identified based on three peaks/bands. Elephas maximus exhibited two distinct PCR fragments at approximate 129 and 381 bp; Loxodonta cyclotis showed two PCR fragments at 89 and 129 bp; and Loxodonta africana showed a single fragment of 129 bp. The assay correctly identified the elephant species using all 113 ivory and blood samples used in this report. We also report on the high sensitivity and specificity of the assay. All single-blinded samples were correctly classified, which demonstrated the assay's ability to be used for real casework. In addition, the assay could be used in conjunction with the technique of direct amplification. We propose that the test will benefit wildlife forensic laboratories and aid in the transition to the criminal justice system., (© 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Demand for ivory and expansion of human settlements have resulted in a rapid decline in the number of elephants. Enforcement of local and international laws and regulations requires identification of the species from which any ivory, or ivory products, originated. Further geographical assignment of the dead elephant from which the ivory was taken can assist in forensic investigations. In this study, a real-time PCR assay using melt curve analysis was developed and fully validated for forensic use. The presence or absence of three Elephantidae-specific and elephant species-specific melting peaks was used to identify the elephant species. Using 141 blood and ivory samples from the three extant elephant species, the assay demonstrated very high reproducibility and accuracy. The limit of detection was as low as 0.031ng of input DNA for conventional amplification and 0.002ng for nested amplification. Both DNA concentrations are typically encountered in forensic casework, especially for degraded samples. No cross-reactivity was observed for non-target species. Evaluation of direct amplification and nested amplification demonstrated the assay's flexibility and capability of analyzing low-template DNA samples and aged samples. Additionally, blind trial testing showed the assay's suitability application in real casework. In conclusion, wildlife forensic laboratories could use this novel, quick, and low-cost assay to help combat the continuing poaching crises leading to the collapse of elephant numbers in the wild., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The unique chequered pattern of elephant ivory has made it a desired commodity for the production of various works of art. The demand however outstrips the supply and with soaring prices, illegal tusk harvesting is thriving on the African continent. Formal restrictions placed on trade in elephant products have been ineffective in reversing the rapid decline in elephant numbers. We are presently facing the reality of extinction of free roaming elephant on the African continent. This paper describes the histogenesis of the chequered pattern, the genomic impact of ivory harvesting on the phenotype of breeding herds, and the contribution of science to tracing the origin of illegal ivory.

Illegal hunting of African elephants (Loxodonta africana) for ivory is causing rapid declines in their populations. Since 2007, illegal ivory trade has more than doubled. African elephants are facing the most serious conservation crisis since 1989, when international trade was banned. One solution proposed is establishment of a controlled legal trade in ivory. High prices for ivory mean that the incentives to obtain large quantities are high, but the quantity of tusks available for trade are biologically constrained. Within that context, effective management of a legal ivory trade would require robust systems to be in place to ensure that ivory from illegally killed elephants cannot be laundered into a legal market. At present, that is not feasible due to corruption among government officials charged with implementing wildlife-related legislation. With organized criminal enterprises involved along the whole commodity chain, corruption enables the laundering of illegal ivory into legal or potentially legal markets. Poachers and traffickers can rapidly pay their way out of trouble, so the financial incentives to break the law heavily outweigh those of abiding by it. Maintaining reliable permitting systems and leak-proof chains of custody in this context is challenging, and effective management breaks down. Once illegal ivory has entered the legal trade, it is difficult or impossible for enforcement officers to know what is legal and illegal. Addressing corruption throughout a trade network that permeates countries across the globe will take decades, if it can ever be achieved. That will be too late for wild African elephants at current rates of loss. If we are to conserve remaining wild populations, we must close all markets because, under current levels of corruption, they cannot be controlled in a way that does not provide opportunities for illegal ivory being laundered into legal markets., (© 2014 Society for Conservation Biology.)

Elephant trunks are capable of complex, multimodal deformations, allowing them to perform task‐oriented high‐degree‐of‐freedom (DOF) movements pertinent to the field of soft actuators. Despite recent advances, most soft actuators can only achieve one or two deformation modes, limiting their motion range and applications. Inspired by the elephant trunk musculature, a liquid crystal elastomer (LCE)‐based multi‐fiber design strategy is proposed for soft robotic arms in which a discrete number of artificial muscle fibers can be selectively actuated, achieving multimodal deformations and transitions between modes for continuous movements. Through experiments, finite element analysis (FEA), and a theoretical model, the influence of LCE fiber design on the achievable deformations, movements, and reachability of trunk‐inspired robotic arms is studied. Fiber geometry is parametrically investigated for 2‐fiber robotic arms and the tilting and bending of these arms is characterized. A 3‐fiber robotic arm is additionally studied with a simplified fiber arrangement analogous to that of an actual elephant trunk. The remarkably broad range of deformations and the reachability of the arm are discussed, alongside transitions between deformation modes for functional movements. It is anticipated that this design and actuation strategy will serve as a robust method to realize high‐DOF soft actuators for various engineering applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The long-trunked elephantids underwent a significant evolutionary stage characterized by an exceptionally elongated mandible. The initial elongation and subsequent regression of the long mandible, along with its co-evolution with the trunk, present an intriguing issue that remains incompletely understood. Through comparative functional and eco-morphological investigations, as well as feeding preference analysis, we reconstructed the feeding behavior of major groups of longirostrine elephantiforms. In the Platybelodon clade, the rapid evolutionary changes observed in the narial region, strongly correlated with mandible and tusk characteristics, suggest a crucial evolutionary transition where feeding function shifted from the mandible to the trunk, allowing proboscideans to expand their niches to more open regions. This functional shift further resulted in elephantids relying solely on their trunks for feeding. Our research provides insights into how unique environmental pressures shape the extreme evolution of organs, particularly in large mammals that developed various peculiar adaptations during the late Cenozoic global cooling trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents Epistemic Spatialization as a new framework for investigating the interconnected patterns of biases when identifying objects with convolutional neural networks (convnets). It draws upon Foucault's notion of spatialized knowledge to guide its method of enquiry. We argue that decisions involved in the creation of algorithms, alongside the labeling, ordering, presentation, and commercial prioritization of objects, together create a distorted "nomination of the visible": they harden the visibility of some objects, make other objects excessively visible, and consign yet others to permanent or haphazard invisibility. Our approach differs from those who focus on high-stakes misidentifications, such as errors tied to structural racism. Examining the far more dominant series of low-stakes mistakes shows the scope of errors, destabilizing the goal of image content identification with considerable societal impact. We explore these issues by closely examining the demonstration video of a popular convnet. This examination reveals an interlocking series of biases undermining the content identification process. The picture we paint is crucial for a better understanding of the errors that result as these convnets become further embedded in everyday products. The framework is valuable for critical work on computer vision, AI studies, and large-scale visual analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of elephant ivory as a commodity is a factor in declining elephant populations. Despite recent worldwide elephant ivory trade bans, mammoth ivory trade remains unregulated. This complicates law enforcement efforts, as distinguishing between ivory from extant and extinct species requires costly, destructive and time consuming methods. Elephant and mammoth ivory mainly consists of dentine, a mineralized connective tissue that contains an organic collagenous component and an inorganic component of calcium phosphate minerals, similar in structure to hydroxyapatite crystals. Raman spectroscopy is a non-invasive laser-based technique that has previously been used for the study of bone and mineral chemistry. Ivory and bone have similar biochemical properties, making Raman spectroscopy a promising method for species identification based on ivory. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that it is possible to identify differences in the chemistry of mammoth and elephant ivory using Raman spectroscopy. Mammoth and elephant tusks were obtained from the Natural History Museum in London, UK. Included in this study were eight samples of ivory from Mammuthus primigenius, two samples of carved ivory bangles from Africa (Loxodonta species), and one cross section of a tusk from Elephas maximus. The ivory was scanned using an inVia Raman micro spectrometer equipped with a x50 objective lens and a 785nm laser. Spectra were acquired using line maps and individual spectral points were acquired randomly or at points of interest on all samples. The data was then analysed using principal component analysis (PCA) with use of an in-house MATLAB script. Univariate analysis of peak intensity ratios of phosphate to amide I and III peaks, and carbonate to phosphate peaks showed statistical differences (p<0.0001) in the average peak intensity ratios between Mammuthus primigenius, Loxodonta spp. and Elephas maximus. Full width at half maximum hight (FWHM)analysis of the phosphate peak demonstrated higher crystal maturity of Mammuthus primigenius compared to living elephant species. The results of the study have established that spectra acquired by Raman spectroscopy can be separated into distinct classes through PCA. In conclusion, this study has shown that well-preserved mammoth and elephant ivory has the potential to be characterized using Raman spectroscopy, providing a promising method for species identification. The results of this study will be valuable in developing quick and non-destructive methods for the identification of ivory, which will have direct applications in archaeology and the regulation of international trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elephant ivory, a prestigious and valuable raw material in the post-Roman West and Byzantium between the 5th and 7th centuries AD, may originate from various sources. While both written and art historical evidence suggests that in the case of early medieval artefacts, African provenance is more likely than Asian, no data at hand is conclusive. The present paper investigates, with the help of FTIR and Raman spectroscopy, carbon and nitrogen concentration and nitrogen isotope (δ15N) analyses, the material resources of elephant ivory artefacts discovered in 6th- and 7th-century AD archaeological context in the Carpathian Basin to contribute to our understanding of late antique long-distance trade networks and economic relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Raman spectroscopy has been applied to the nondestructive study of ivory artefacts. Molecular Raman spectra of this material have been recorded previously using Fourier‐transform Raman spectroscopy (1064‐nm excitation), and attempts were made to differentiate between species of different origin. However, few attempts have been made to examine this interesting material using dispersive Raman spectroscopy, as when using shorter wavelength excitation, the fluorescence background signal tends to overwhelm the Raman signal. In this study, however, a mobile fibre‐optics Raman spectrometer, equipped with 1064‐nm excitation and an InGaAs detector, was used for the direct analysis of ivory artefacts. This approach opens opportunities for the fast and reliable analysis of this material, without the need to move the artefact to the laboratory, helping to act against the illegal trade of this endangered biomaterial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ivory trade is of global interest due to its impacts on elephant conservation. Thailand permits the domestic trade of ivory from domesticated elephants. Knowledge of the supply chain is important for managing this market in order to achieve sustainable benefits for both wildlife conservation and human livelihoods. We interviewed elephant owners and ivory manufacturers to conduct an analysis of the Thai ivory supply chain. Five key actor groups operate in this supply chain: elephant owners, intermediaries, manufacturers, retailers, and ivory consumers. Factors influencing the supply of raw ivory vary with harvesting, use, and sale destination but the financial needs of elephant owners and market factors are particularly influential. Elephant owner decisions also depend on elephant management, sentimental values, ivory beliefs, tusk forms, and legal awareness. These findings have the potential to inform the design of monitoring the Thai ivory market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behavior and innervation suggest a high tactile sensitivity of elephant trunks. To clarify the tactile trunk periphery we studied whiskers with the following findings. Whisker density is high at the trunk tip and African savanna elephants have more trunk tip whiskers than Asian elephants. Adult elephants show striking lateralized whisker abrasion caused by lateralized trunk behavior. Elephant whiskers are thick and show little tapering. Whisker follicles are large, lack a ring sinus and their organization varies across the trunk. Follicles are innervated by ~90 axons from multiple nerves. Because elephants don't whisk, trunk movements determine whisker contacts. Whisker-arrays on the ventral trunk-ridge contact objects balanced on the ventral trunk. Trunk whiskers differ from the mobile, thin and tapered facial whiskers that sample peri-rostrum space symmetrically in many mammals. We suggest their distinctive features—being thick, non-tapered, lateralized and arranged in specific high-density arrays—evolved along with the manipulative capacities of the trunk. An anatomical study of the structure, distribution and use of whiskers on the elephant trunk reveal unique characteristics that may facilitate its manipulative capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While artifacts made of ivory fill the shelves and storage rooms of museum collections across the world, ever more stringent legal measures restricting or banning the ivory trade have turned these objects into troublesome treasures. Ivory is a biological material derived from the tusks and teeth of several extant and extinct animals. The physical and aesthetic properties of elephantine ivory in relation to its use and symbolic significance shaped the material cultures of classed whiteness at the turn of the twentieth century. Ivory from elephant tusks displays a characteristic macroscopic motif known as the Schreger pattern, which is often used by conservators and forensic researchers as an identifying characteristic First described by German odontologist Bernhard Schreger in 1800, this pattern of crossing dark and bright lines is attributed to an optical phenomenon of light refraction. By proposing a refractive reading of ivory, this article explores the role of animal - derived materials in the construction of human identities. This method of analysis allows the properties of ivory-luster, brilliance, whiteness, and toughness-to be seen as agentive material properties that historically co-produced human racial and classed ideals. Analyzing nineteenth- and early twentieth-century sources in dental anatomy, ivory commerce, and technical microscopy permits an unraveling of this animal material's ties to specific colonial regimes of trade and resource extraction, and its technical role in precursors to materials science. This paper is part of a special issue entitled "Making Animal Materials in Time," edited by Laurence Douny and Lisa Onaga. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The illegal wildlife trade has come to the forefront of global politics, driven by concerns about biodiversity loss, illicit markets, and animal-borne infectious diseases. Yet, poaching remains common in many countries. The persistence of illegal hunting is attributable to (among other factors) poverty and poor labor market opportunities, which leave individuals in some communities with few viable alternatives to wildlife crime. Foreign aid that alleviates poverty and unemployment may, therefore, lead to a reduction in illegal hunting. However, cross-national research on aid and economic development offers mixed findings, suggesting a conditional effect. Against this backdrop, I theorize that aid reduces the economic pressures that contribute to poaching, but only in countries with representative political institutions. I test a corresponding hypothesis using data on elephant poaching in African and Asian countries. My findings show that aid is accompanied by a reduction in elephant poaching in democracies, but not in authoritarian countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article highlights a study of the largest Palaeoloxodon antiquus assemblage known, excavated from 125,000-year-old lake deposits in Germany which shows that hunting of elephants weighing up to 13 metric tons was part of the cultural repertoire of Last Interglacial Neanderthals there, over 2000 years, many dozens of generations. It concludes that Neanderthals were less mobile and operated within social units substantially larger than commonly envisaged.

Three giant-sized mammals, bison, African elephants, and sperm whales, faced sustained hunting in the 19th century. Demand for hides, ivory, and whale oil, all of which were useful in industrial production, animated the hunts. Most of the industrial production in question took place in the north-eastern United States, while the hunts took place thousands of kilometers away, linking regions in what I call “ecological teleconnections.” The hunts dramatically reduced the populations of all three species, most drastically the bison. For ten thousand years, bison had helped to regulate their biome, the North American prairie grasslands, playing a role of a keystone species. East African elephants on their savanna grasslands, and sperm whales in oceans, had functioned for even longer as keystone species. The sharp and sudden reductions in populations of these animals after 1800 produced a variety of indirect ecological effects, reshuffling the ecosystems in question, making for difficult times for human communities that had come to depend on them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gastrointestinal disorders are among the most common disease processes in captive elephants. Colic is a frequent clinical presentation and may have several infectious and noninfectious causes. Ingestion of sand has been reported in elephants living in enclosures with loose sandy soils. Similar to the situation in horses, sand ingestion can cause intestinal impaction and colic in elephants. Here we describe a case of colonic sand impaction with cecal rupture and peritonitis in an African savanna elephant from a zoologic collection that died after several days of colic. On autopsy, abundant, gritty, sandy material was found within a segment of colon immediately aboral to the cecum. There was a full-thickness tear in the cecal wall, free intestinal contents within the abdominal cavity, and peritonitis. To our knowledge, the postmortem examination of an elephant with sand impaction and cecal rupture has not been reported previously; this condition should be included among the differential diagnoses in elephants with colic. We review the reports of noninfectious causes of gastrointestinal disease in elephants, which include cases of small intestinal and colonic torsion and of intestinal obstruction by fecal boluses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United Kingdom, with the introduction of the Ivory Act 2018, is at the forefront of elephant protection, and it is hoped that governmental commitments, made in the 25 Year Environment Plan, will see increased protection for other species at risk due to the illegal wildlife trade. However, one species that currently falls outside of the regulation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) can be directly linked to the ivory trade: the mammoth. The woolly mammoth became extinct more than 10,000 years ago, but the genus Mammuthus, since its appearance in Africa c.5 ma, was one of the most successful megafaunal groups, radiating into 10 species and found across the Northern Hemisphere from Siberia to Crete. As the world warms and the permafrost melts, mammoth tusks are being uncovered across the Northern Hemisphere, particularly in Siberia's Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). There are close similarities between the tusks of elephants and mammoths, leading conservationists to fear that the increase in "ice ivory" heralds a new threat to elephants and our wider understanding of the "woolly" mammoth and its world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on facial motor control in elephants, animals with muscular dexterous trunks. It offers information about how elephant brain's neural adaptations to facial morphology, body size, and dexterity. It discusses the difference of elephant facial nucleus from other mammals and allometric analysis.

Summary: While many species are affected by trafficking in their products, some take centre stage, including elephants, rhinos, pangolins and helmeted hornbills, and we report an open trade that continued in these items in eastern Myanmar between 2015 and 2020. We surveyed Myanmar's border towns of Tachilek and Mong La, recording volumes, prices, origins and trade routes. We observed c. 16 500 ivory items, 8 helmeted hornbill casques and 264 beads, over 100 African rhino horn items and over 250 pangolins (mainly skins and scales). In 2020, asking prices in Mong La for rhino horn tips were US$10 770, rhino horn bracelets US$5385, helmeted hornbill casques US$2424 and big ivory bangles c. US$800, with prices being stable overall since 2017. We estimate the combined monetary values at US$0.25–0.30 million for Tachilek and US$0.75–2.00 million for Mong La. Mong La's market today far surpasses Tachilek's, being on the border of mainland China. Mobile phones and online trading allow customers to order items without bothering to cross the borders. Commitment to address the illegal wildlife trade across Myanmar's borders requires a greater degree of cooperation and coordination amongst the relevant authorities in Myanmar, China and Thailand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Creating a future for elephants and people is a highly complex and dynamic challenge, involving social, behavioral, and ecological dimensions as well as multiple actors with various interests. To foster learning from human–elephant conflict (HEC) management projects and share best practices, a study was conducted to review the management of conflicts between elephants and humans in 12 African countries by qualitative expert interviews. Based on this information, a HEC management framework was developed in a two-tiered process. In the first phase, the theory of the framework was developed. In a second phase, the theoretical framework was validated and adjusted through stakeholder participation in two southern African projects (in Mozambique and Malawi). This holistic approach considers environmental as well as social, political, cultural, and economic factors directly or indirectly affecting interactions between people and wildlife. The framework integrates six interlinked strategies to guide managers and conservation practitioners to address HWC drivers and mitigate their impact. A legal environment and spatial planning form the basis of the framework. Social strategies, including meaningful stakeholder engagement and design of appropriate institutional structures and processes are considered the heart of the framework. Technical and financial strategies represent its arms and hands. At the top, monitoring steers all processes, provides feedback for adjustment, and informs decisions. The integration and coordination of these six strategies has great potential as a guiding route to human–wildlife coexistence in Africa and elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Asian elephant Elephas maximus is of cultural significance for the Thai people. The development of legal protection for elephants in Thailand dates back to the 17th century, reflecting concerns about both human livelihoods and elephant conservation. The legal status of privately owned, captive elephants differs from that of wild individuals, with consequences for the lawful use of ivory from captive animals. Prior to 2015, the lack of comprehensive measures to control the Thai ivory market enabled the laundering of illegally sourced ivory in the country. The Thai government introduced legal reforms in 2015, imposing strict controls over the possession and domestic trade of ivory from captive Asian elephants, and aligning the protection of African elephants and their ivory with CITES regulations. Nonetheless, the sustainable use of Thai ivory remains disputed, and international pressure to close the commercial trade in domestic ivory persists. Here we review this complex situation, aiming to inform future reforms. Consolidation of laws related to elephants and ivory would facilitate law enforcement and compliance. Use of an electronic database would improve the monitoring of ivory movements and aid the implementation and enforcement of laws. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An additional affiliation is missing for the second author. Giovanni Boschian is also affiliated with the Palaeo-Research Institute—University of Johannesburg, P.O. Box 524, Auckland Park, 2006, South Africa.By Paola Villa; Giovanni Boschian; Luca Pollarolo; Daniela Saccà; Fabrizio Marra; Sebastien Nomade and Alison PereiraReported by Author; Author; Author; Author; Author; Author; Author [Extracted from the article]

Several neurological illnesses and diseased sites have been studied, along with the anatomical framework of the brain, using structural MRI (sMRI). It is critical to diagnose Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients in a timely manner to implement preventative treatments. The segmentation of brain anatomy and categorization of AD have received increased attention since they can deliver good findings spanning a vast range of information. The first research gap considered in this work is the real-time efficiency of OTSU segmentation, which is not high, despite its simplicity and good accuracy. A second issue is that feature extraction could be automated by implementing deep learning techniques. To improve picture segmentation's real-timeliness, enhanced fuzzy elephant herding optimization (EFEHO) was used for OTSU segmentation, and named EFEHO-OTSU. The main contribution of this work is twofold. One is utilizing EFEHO in the recommended technique to seek the optimal segmentation threshold for the OTSU method. Second, dual attention multi-instance deep learning network (DA-MIDL) is recommended for the timely diagnosis of AD and its prodromal phase, mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Tests show that this technique converges faster and takes less time than the classic OTSU approach without reducing segmentation performance. This study develops a valuable tool for quick picture segmentation with good real-time efficiency. Compared to numerous conventional techniques, the suggested study attains improved categorization performance regarding accuracy and transferability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malicious, commercial or retaliatory poisoning of wildlife is increasing across Africa, including the killing of elephants ( Loxodonta africana) to supply the illegal ivory trade. Regional differences exist in the types of poisons used by poachers and in Zimbabwe cyanide has become more commonly employed in recent years -- sourced illegally from its commercial use in the gold mining industry. Cyanide is potent, so can be rapidly lethal in small quantities and is also not too difficult or costly to source illegally. It is therefore a relatively low-risk option for any ivory poacher, even individuals not involved with criminal syndicates. On the positive side, however, cyanide has far fewer bio-accumulative and cycling properties in ecosystems than more frequently used poisons like pesticides. Detection and subsequent proof in a court of law, of the illegal use of cyanide in elephant carcasses, can be problematic to distinguish conclusively from other causes of sudden death. Therefore, proactive strategies to combat wildlife poisons are far more successful and the one proposed here against cyanide provides a good model. It encourages the establishment of strong intelligence networks to enable the arrest of poachers in possession of poisons before they are deployed in the field, and effective application of laws which now facilitate convictions for poaching. A key element in prosecution under recently revised Zimbabwean laws is proving that illegal possession of cyanide in the relevant circumstances includes the intent to use itfor ivory poaching. Zimbabwe's legal experience in this respect could prove especially valuable to other countries facing similar threats of poison being used illegally to kill any wildlife species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to provide an estimate of the elasticity of elephant poaching with respect to prices. Ivory being a storable commodity subjects its price to Hotelling's no-arbitrage condition, hence allowing identification of the supply curve. The price of gold, one of many commodities used as stores of value, is thus used as an instrument for ivory prices. The supply of illegal ivory is found to be price inelastic with an elasticity of 0.4, with changes in consumer prices passing-through to prices faced by producers at a rate close to unity. Estimations based on a number of alternative estimation approaches all confirm the conclusion that supply is inelastic. The paper ends with a brief discussion on what such a finding implies for elephant conservation policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines and applies the concept of "selective liability" (i.e., operating as if there was a genuine choice between fault-based and strict liability legal regimes) to examine the apparent plausible deniability pact between online selling platforms and the sellers. Through an analysis of online trading data, this paper considered the issues inherent in prosecuting traders who use online auction platforms to sell ivory in contravention of "CITES" regulations. Three bone euphemisms for ivory (antique bovine bone, antique cow bone, antique Chinese cow bone) were identified to track sales over the course of 90 days. The results showed that sellers are using such euphemisms to sell ivory online and these findings highlighted the contradiction between a firm's ban on ivory sales and the apparent ease with which ivory is sold through a website. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2019, Royal Assent was granted to the United Kingdom's Ivory Act 2018. The legislation, introduced by Environment Secretary Michael Gove in 2018, was welcomed by politicians and conservation groups as "an extraordinary achievement" and "a landmark in our fight to protect wildlife and the environment." In passing through the Parliamentary process in only seven months, the Ivory Act was testament to the cross-party commitment to tackling the illegal ivory trade. However, its path to enactment has not been smooth sailing. Following Royal Assent, the Ivory Act was the subject of judicial review brought by a company created by a group of antiques dealers, the Friends of Antique Cultural Treasures Limited, for the purpose of challenging the Ivory Act. While the Ivory Act is now considered among the strictest ivory trade legislation in the world, this article considers its path to enactment, its likely impact on the trade in ivory artifacts in the United Kingdom, and whether the act can fulfil the British government's aim to make it "one of the toughest bans on the planet." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jelen tanulmány célja az elefántcsont mint nyersanyag lehetséges forrásaira és értékére vonatkozó, a római és a késő ókori mediterrán világból származó adatok áttekintése, információkat nyerve ezáltal a 6–7. századi Kárpát-medence régészeti hagyatékából előkerült elefántcsonttárgyak eredetére, elérhetőségére és árára vonatkozólag. A hellenisztikus kortól a kora középkorig terjedő időszakban a Földközi-tenger vidéki elefántcsont-kereskedelem dinamikáját megvilágító írott és tárgyi források áttekintése nyomán úgy tűnik, hogy a 6–7. századi Közép-Duna-vidéki elefántcsonttárgyak nyersanyaga a Földközi-tenger medencéjén keresztül Afrikából, ezen belül is talán a kontinens keleti feléről érkezett. Megállapítható emellett, hogy a mediterrán világ keleti és középső régióiban készült, a Kárpát-medencébe elkerült elefántcsonttárgyak nem tekinthetők kiemelkedően drága luxusjavaknak, többségük viszonylag szerény áron megvásárolható volt. The present paper seeks to examine the available data on the possible sources and monetary value of elephant ivory, both as raw material and finished products, in the Roman to late antique Mediterranean world in order to gain a better understanding of the wider context of elephant ivory artefacts dating from the sixth and seventh centuries discovered in the Carpathian Basin. After reviewing the written and material evidence on the dynamics of the Mediterranean elephant ivory trade from the Hellenistic period until the Early Middle Ages, our main conclusion is that the raw material of the sixth- to seventh-century ivory objects of the Middle Danube Region in in all probability originated from Africa, possibly from the continent's eastern parts, and arrived to this area through the Mediterranean. It is further argued that the few artefacts manufactured of elephant ivory in the eastern and central regions of the Mediterranean that reached the Carpathian Basin cannot be regarded as extremely expensive luxury goods – in fact, their majority would have been quite affordable to customers of more modest means. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vulture declines are uniquely problematic for socio-ecological systems because they are nature’s most important scavengers. Intentional and unintentional poisoning, human-wildlife conflict, energy infrastructure, belief-based use, and illegal hunting activities remain threats to vulture populations across Africa. Conservation stakeholders have identified evidence that a number of vulture species in particular ecosystems are being systematically targeted by poisoning with potentially significant effects on human, wildlife, and ecosystem health. We explored the extent to which an interdisciplinary, expert team-based approach linking conservation and criminology could help inform efforts to prevent poisoning of Africa’s vultures. We used the case of illegal vulture poisoning and conservation in the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area (GLTFCA), a known poisoning site, as an exemplar. We used an interdisciplinary framework, conservation criminology, to guide a desk assessment of how the local environment may create opportunities for illegal poisoning. Our assessment was conducted as a science team and included multiple iterations and structured discourse. The assessment identifies different elements of vulture poisoning and the opportunity factors that can both underly the problem and inform prevention strategies and tactics. We discuss controlling tools and weapons, extending local guardianship, denying benefits, reducing frustration and stress, and assisting compliance to help prevent illegal poisoning. Results provide insights into harm prevention using evidence-based theory and illustrate the positive potential of interdisciplinary team science for vulture conservation. With additional application, monitoring and evaluation, strategies and tactics explored in this desk assessment may be revised and implemented and portend other benefits for vulture conservation beyond poisoning; the spread of beneficial influence could be a welcome force multiplier for this important scavenger guild.

Vegetable ivory obtained from the endosperm of jarina seeds (Phytelephas macrocarpa), native to the Amazon region, has been regarded as a sustainable alternative to elephant ivory; however, it is vulnerable to biodegradation due to its mannan polysaccharide composition. In this study, vegetable ivory was coated by atmospheric air plasma jet activation of silicone and copaiba oils. Stable, smooth, and crosslinked micrometric coatings were formed after 80 s of plasma activation. Water contact angle results show that hydrophobicity was enhanced without detrimental effects on the surface reflectance. The best antibacterial performance against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli was obtained for a 1:1 mixture of both oils due to the synergetic action of silicone hydrophobicity and copaiba bioactivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determination of the age of ivory is important for controlling illegal trafficking and the proper identification of ivory artifacts. Radiocarbon dating is the standard method of determining the age of ivories; however, it requires the destruction of a fragment of the sample. Raman spectroscopy is a nondestructive technique, and therefore can be used on artwork. Moreover, Raman measurements can be done using a portable system, and the data analysis can be performed on the spot once the groundwork is done. Ivories contain two primary components: collagen and bioapatite. Raman spectrum of ivory material is mainly a sum of the vibrational bands of these components. As collagen deteriorates with time, its Raman signal decreases; therefore, the ratio of collagen to bioapatite peaks is smaller in the older samples compared to the younger ones, providing a basis for sample dating. We have compared the results of Raman and radiocarbon measurements applied to a set of elephant ivory fragments and have successfully calibrated the Raman data set using radiocarbon measurements. We found that the Raman collagen to bioapatite peak ratios of the samples can be used as a metric to determine their age, providing a nondestructive technique to assess the age of ivory samples. We have also used singular value decomposition (SVD) to analyze the whole Raman spectra. We have observed clear separation between samples of different ages in the SVD component space. The samples also tended to align along the timeline diagonal in the correct order. The changes in multiple collagen and bioapatite peaks contribute to the differences in Raman spectra of ivory samples of different age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper characterizes the ivory demand in Japan, formerly, the largest consumer country of ivory, by imports of worked ivory since 1970. During the entire period, the preference parameters, each of which represents the elasticity of the marginal rate of substitution, suggest that a change occurred in 1989, when the African elephant was listed in the CITES Appendix I. We conduct hypothesis tests on the differences in consumer preferences for observation periods before and after 1989. We show that Veblen effects caused the increasing shift of the demand in the first period, meaning that ivory products were more preferred as their price increased. They were purchased even though the price continued to rise before the trade ban intervened. The Veblen effects disappeared in the second period when the demand became homogeneous of degree zero. Due to public awareness of illegal trade and endangered elephants, the quantity of the demand for worked ivory quickly declined. The price has fluctuated unpredictably since the 2000s, and a small amount of worked ivory is imported at a high price because of the unavailability of ivory products. Prohibition could influence the social preference for wildlife products from which domestic demand is formed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

African elephants have major impacts on vegetation, particularly at high densities. Knob‐thorns (Senegalia nigrescens) are typically ring‐barked by elephant, and high levels of mortality are common at high elephant densities. Our study aimed to test whether ivory palm clusters (Hyphaene petersiana) form a biotic refuge for knob‐thorn against elephant herbivory. We measured the density, damage and mortality of knob‐thorns in sites differing according to ivory palm presence and elephant density, and thus, the probability of knob‐thorn encounter by elephants. The site with palms and low elephant density, had a high density of knob‐thorns, but lower proportions of damaged and dead trees, than sites without palms but with similar or higher elephant density. In the former, knob‐thorns were associated with palm clusters, particularly saplings and young adults. In this site, low proportions of damaged and dead knob‐thorns were recorded in palm clusters, compared with outside clusters, and to those in the other sites. Our study also showed that juvenile palms which protected knob‐thorns, suffered low mortality in contrast to subadult palms. We have no evidence but implicate elephants and suggest that in palm clusters, subadult palms are more accessible to elephants than knob‐thorns because of the different methods of utilisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]