Illegal Hunting and Trade

poached-elephant-621x404Male Asian elephants, most of which have tusks, have suffered the most from the ivory trade. This is by no means a new phenomenon for ivory has been a valued substance from time immemorial, where Asian artists and craftsmen transform those tusks into complex and beautiful objects. Besides the insatiable lust for ivory products, the burgeoning demand for ivory in the Asian market makes the illegal ivory trade extremely profitable, and therefore has led to the continued slaughter of Asian elephants. In addition, the price of ivory in China has tripled between 2010 and 2014, which drives illicit poaching through the roof.

Between 1995 and 1996, poaching of Asian bull elephants for hide, meat, and ivory increased sharply, which have led to a significant drop in reproduction rates. In 1998, Men Phimean, Director of Cambodia’s Wildlife Protection Department, said that poachers had slaughtered many bull elephants for their tusks, and that Cambodia might have to import bulls from neighbouring Laos to address a critical shortage of male elephants. Similarly, Vietnam has also reported a severe shortage of male elephants in the wild. Because of such imbalanced sex ratio, there has been a rising concern about the genetic effects on the stability of elephant societies.

Read More: Threats, Genetic Threat, Capture of Wild Elephants