National Geographic News, Reporting Your World Daily

Monday, November 23, 2009

Photo: Asian Gangsters Drive African Elephant Slaughter, Report Says


Email to a Friend	<< Back to Full Story

A 2.5-ton cache of ivory seized by Taiwanese authorities awaits inspection at a harbor in July 2006. The ivory was en route from Tanzania to the Philippines. Two days later an additional three tons were seized at the same port.

A new report by conservationists says organized crime syndicates in Asia are behind a recent surge in the trade of illegal ivory, particularly from elephants in Central Africa.

Photograph by Joyce Wu/TRAFFIC