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Tricia Huynh
Dr. Linda Haas
WR 39C
20 August 2015
Elephant Poaching: The Real Value of Ivory
When I was a very young, I thought wild animals, like lions and rhinos, were very
frightening because they arent as cute and friendly as dogs and cats. However, my view on wild
animals changed when my family and I went to a zoo in Thailand. It started with my first
encounter with an elephant. I remember, being a little 8 year old girl, I was intimidated by the
massive size of the elephant I interacted with. I thought it would run me over, but I was surprised
of how gentle it was. It nuzzled my cheek and tickled my nose; ever since then, I was in awe of
elephants. Although I find elephants to be sentient creatures, many people do not share the same
view as me. Many people view elephants or animals in general, to be void of thought and reason,
and thus have no rights to be treated well. Because of this perception on animals, elephants are
poached for their ivory without any consideration that elephants are a keystone species necessary
for the well-being of an entire ecosystem. Because of this perception on animals, the ivory trade,
as well as terrorism funded by the ivory trade, will still continue on.
Elephant Cognition
In the 4 century BC, the well-known Greek philosopher, Aristotle, denied that animals
th

possess thought, reason, intellect, and belief whilst he granted them a great sense of perception
(Irvine 38). It was not until Donald Griffin published his book, Animal Thinking (1984), and the
progression of cognitive ethology that animal cognition has become respectable (Jolly 231), and
studies of animal cognition were acknowledged. Bernhard Rensch (1957), a German

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evolutionary biologist, was the first known researcher who investigated elephant cognitive skills
on a five-year old captive Asian elephant. Rensch taught the elephant 20 different visual
discrimination pairs, where one pattern of each pair was rewarded (Bates et al., 2008). Renschs
research displayed the elephants understanding of a learning set, and it paved a way to more
research on elephant intelligence.
In the last decade, scientists have conducted several studies to determine the level of
elephant intelligence. There are many accounts in which elephants have shown their intelligence
through their behaviors in many social settings and situations; from the ability to discriminate
between visuals to being able to imitate human speech. In this essay, I shall review examples of
research into elephant behavior that indicates the consciousness and high intelligence of African
and Asian elephants. The first review will discuss Atiya Y. Hakeems study on the brain of the
African elephant, based on Hakeem and his research groups article, Brain of the African
elephant (Loxodonta Africana): Neuroanatomy from magnetic resonance images. This review
of the elephant brain is to provide a background into the intellect of the elephant so that there is a
better understanding of what this creature is capable of. There will also be some references to the
online journal Comparative Cognition & Behavior Reviews to show that the various behaviors of
elephants demonstrate specific cognitive abilities. This review will provide scientific evidence
that elephants are intelligent beings with complex cognitive abilities and behavior; based on this
science, we must question human perceptions and practices when it comes to the elephants.
First of all, cognition requires the activity of the brain, which has all the neurons and
synapses that make cognition possible. The main author of Brain of the African elephant
(Loxodonta Africana): Neuroanatomy from magnetic resonance images (2005), Atiya Y.
Hakeem, a researcher Medicine, Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology at the California

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Institute of Technology, and his research team conducted research on the adult brain of the
African elephant using magnetic resonance imaging. Using an MRI scanner, Hakeem et. al.
studied the brain of an adult female wild-caught African elephant that had been euthanized of
foot problems. He compared the brain of the elephant with two other brains: a dolphins and a
humans (e.g. Figure 1). He concluded that the elephant brain is similar to the human brain:
Both the elephant and the human have a far lower ratio of neocortex to corpus callosum than do
species of Delphinidae (dolphins); in this respect the elephant brain is more similar in
organization to the brains of large primates (13).

Figure 1. Comparison of callosum (in red) between A)

Elephant, B) Human, and C) Bottlenose dolphin.
Images from Hakeem et al.

Figure 2. Comparison of hippocampus (in red)

between A) Elephant, B) Rock Hyrax, and C)
Manatee. Images from Hakeem et al.

Hakeem et al. also found that the hippocampus of the elephant is large and convoluted
compared to that of either the human or the various cetaceans that have been studied (24); a
region of the brain particularly involved in emotion and memory. In Figure 2, the elephants
hippocampus, which is highlighted in red, is more convoluted than the other animals. The
elephant hippocampus takes up a greater percentage of volume, suggesting that elephants have
extremely long social and chemical memory. For example, in the discussion section of Hakeem
et al.s research, Examples of the long-term chemical and social memory of elephants abound
in the popular and scientific literature alike; the matriarch, entrusted with the survival of her

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multigenerational family group remembers geographical information such as the location of
seasonal water sources and social information such as the calls of familiar elephant groups (24).
The elephants complex hippocampus is also a region involved in emotion, such emotion studied
in the elephant population is grief.
In How Animals Grieve by Barbara J. King, King discusses the elephants ability to
mourn the dead, suggesting that elephants are conscious animals capable of feeling grief. In the
book, she describes the death of a female Amboseli elephant named Eleanor and the reactions
that took place from her kin. The elephants studied were reported to nuzzle and nudge the
carcass of Eleanors corpse, sometimes standing near the body for hours. Other accounts show
that elephants are able to recognize the bones of their deceased loved ones and would caress the
bones with their trunks (56). The elephants reactions to the deaths of their kinds demonstrate
human-like symptoms of grief and mourning. The elephants brain structure provides evidence
that the elephant is an intelligent being; however, how does their behavior display their high
level of cognition?
In Comparative Cognition and Behavior Reviews by Richard Byrne, Lucy Bates, and
Cynthia Moss (2009), the elephants cognition is reviewed through their behavior in their own
environment. Byrne et.al researched elephants knowledge of their physical environment and
their behaviors within a social environment (5). Elephants show the capability of creative
thinking and problem solving skills by being able to use tools: Both Asian and African
savannah elephants have been seen to use multiple tool types for up to six different functions,
mostly in the context of body care such as scratching and removing ticks, with one report of
throwing mud during a competitive encounter with a rhino over access to a water hole (69).
This shows that elephants are resourceful and are able to create tools that serve some purposes in

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their daily lives. Also, described in their research, elephants know about each other and their
interactions. In Elephant Cognition, Lucy Bates et al, (2008) discuss that using their urinemoving experiment, elephants have knowledge of individual identities and are able recognize
and keep track of at least 17 different female family members (71). Bates research shows that
elephants use their olfactory senses to locate members of herd. Because of this, elephants have
the ability to individually identify others and communicate with them, a topic Caitlin OConnell
and many other researchers have studied.
These scientific researches in the last decade prove that elephants are intelligent and
sentient beings that are able to solve problems and feel emotion to show that they are conscious.
It is discussed that the brain of the elephant is not so different to that of a humans. Despite it
being larger, the elephants corpus callosum, the integral part of cognition, is similar to the
primates, and the hippocampus is bigger and convoluted, suggesting that its memory far exceed
humans. Studies have also shown that elephants are able to use tools to solve problems,
remember living beings and experiences for a long period of time, and communicate extremely
well. Now that we know elephants are intelligent and conscious, on these scientific studies, how
should that impact our actions on elephant poaching for ivory? The ivory trade is a test to the
ethical treatment of elephants as these animals, proven to be intelligent, are killed for something
so materialistic. This issue is important to take action because innocent lives are taken and a
whole species is on the brink of extinction because of it. If Aristotle were to have access to all
these evidences that elephants to be highly intelligent, conscious creatures, he would not only
grant them a rich sense of perception, but also grant them reason, thought, intellect, and belief.

Ivory Trade, Elephant Poaching, and the Decline of the Elephant Population

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In the 1800s, the African elephant population was approximately 26 million. Today, there
are only about 600,000 to 1 million African elephants left in this world (National Geographic).
Elephants were able to roam free in the wild for 15 million years, but now they are facing a
monumental threat to their survival due to ivory poaching. It is recorded that one elephant is
slaughtered every 15 seconds; therefore, it is estimated that 36,000 elephants are killed annually
(The Crisis). At this rate, the elephant species will be extinct by 2025. To emphasize how
drastic this is, if we dont do anything about the ivory trade, in just 10 years, elephants will no
longer exist on our planet (The Crisis). Without the elephants presence on our earth,
communities across Africa would no longer gain most of their income because most of them rely
heavily on tourism; elephants being the main attractions. Without elephants, a keystone species,
grasslands would become forests, and more species, being herbivores and carnivores, would
dwindle into non-existence.
Conserving elephants, then, becomes much more than an issue about how to
protect a single great species. It is about protecting one of the forces that shapes
ecosystems and helps sustain the wealth of wildlife found across much of the
continent. It is about saving the creative power of nature
Douglas Chadwick, Wildlife Biologist and author of The Fate of the Elephant
(1992).
As stated earlier, the elephant brain is very similar to that of a humans. They are
intelligent and sentient beings that are capable of feeling emotions like humans. Their enormous
size yet gentle demeanor make them iconic species that many people adore. Many African
communities actually depend on African elephants to attract tourists to their parts of the
continent. According to Journalist Jim Burnett of National Parks Traveller magazine,

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Tourism is big business in Africa, and one of the major draws is the wildlife in the continent's
national parks (Burnett 2014). Rob Brandford, the director of an elephant awareness campaign
iworry, states that in Kenya elephants and wildlife tourism alone generates 12% of the Gross
Domestic Product and creates over 300,000 jobs (Brandford 8). Africas economy heavily relies
on its wildlife; without it, many African communities would be more impacted by poverty. Some
may argue that elephants are just one species and Africa has many other animals that could
sustain successful tourism; however, elephants are more than just another species, they are a
keystone species.
A keystone species is a plant or animal that plays a crucial part in the function of an
ecosystem. Without a keystone species, an entire ecosystem would either be completely different
or cease to exist. Robert M. Pringle, a professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary
Biology at Princeton University, studied the elephant species role in the African grasslands. In
his journal Elephants as Agents of Habitat Creation for Small Vertebrates at the Patch Scale,
Pringle mentions that the role of elephants in increasing habitat complexity at restricted spatial
and temporal scales by modifying woody-plant architecture and increasing exposed woody
surface area (Pringle et al. 2007). Elephants stop the progression of grassland to forest by
destroying woody plants to prevent them from growing into trees. Given their size and strength,
elephants are able to push woody plants over and yanking them off the ground with their trunks.
In maintaining the grasslands, species of antelopes and other grazing animals flourish as well as
packs and clans of carnivores that prey on antelopes and grazers. If there are no more elephants
around to keep the grasslands from converting into a forest, many species would die off, and an
entire ecosystem would fall into imbalance. As of now, the entire elephant species is under threat

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due to ivory trading. Populations of elephants are in rapid decline because of high ivory
consumption in many Asian countries.
In the early 1970s, the demand for ivory escalated to a whopping 80% of traded ivory
from poached elephants. In 1989, CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) combatted the illegal trade by banning ivory and eliminating
ivory markets in some countries in Africa (The Crisis). However, in 2008, the illegal ivory
trading business was brought back up again because of the high demand of ivory in many
Eastern countries (e.g. Figure 2).

Figure 2. Bar Graph of Asian Countries with Smuggled Ivory. National Geographic (2011).
In Asian culture, ivory represents wealth, status and power (The Crisis). Its this belief
and perceived value of ivory in Asian cultures that give incentives for poachers to kill elephants.
The illegal ivory market fuels trafficking from Africa to East Asia, and the illegal trade amounts

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to a massive financial transfer out of the poorest parts of Africa to benefit corrupt politicians,
crime syndicates, warlords, and terrorists (Brunker, McLavry). The ivory trade does not benefit
anything or anyone but to those with wrong intentions.
Ivory is precious because it is the teeth of an animal of high intelligence and sentience.
However, people cruelly taking advantage of these great beings, poaching them for their ivory
only to use them for human enjoyment, like crafting them out to jewelry, billiard balls, and piano
keys. The extreme demand for materialistic human enjoyment is costing the existence of the
elephant, which not only is disadvantageous to African communities relying on tourism for
profit, but also to an ecosystem that depends on the elephants role as a key species. Fortunately,
there are solutions to stop elephant poaching that could save elephants from extinction.
Solutions the Problem of Elephant Poaching
There are some public figures and organizations that have come up with solutions to fight
against elephant poaching. For example, just recently, President Barack Obama proposed a ban
on ivory sales in the United States. According to White House officials, President Obama will
launch an initiative in Tanzania to curb the illegal trade of wildlife across the globe (Eilperin
para. 2). The initiative also will include $10 million specifically earmarked for addressing
poaching in Africa, particularly of rhinos and elephants (Eilperin para. 2). Obama has also
raised the issue of the ivory trade with China-the country where many ivory syndicates are based
in. One organization that has come up with solutions against elephant poaching is The Wildlife
World Fund (WWF). It is an international organization that works on the conservation of wild
animals, including the elephant species. This organization seeks donations to fund for supporting
projects that improve elephant protection and management, reduce illegal trade, build capacity
within range states, and mitigate human-elephant conflict.

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Paul ODonoghue, member in Faculty of Applied Science at the University of Chester,
and Christian Rutz, member of School of Biology at University of St. Andrews, developed a
solution to elephant poaching using anti-poaching tags (2015). They propose that animals could
be fitted with electronic tags that could detect poaching events and transmit information to antipoaching units in the area. A range of sensors could be used to detect when an animal is shot or
trapped, including accelerometers or heart-rate sensors (ODonoghue). They state that using
tags could deter poaching activities and reduce the economic attractiveness of poaching because
this system is designed to increase successful interception. Although there are some practical
issues addresses towards this system, the main idea is to discourage elephant poaching.
A grassroots solution to elephant poaching is the use of social media to raise awareness
of the consequences of the ivory trade and to reach out to those willing to protect elephants from
extinction. Social media is an effective tool to use for any 21s century campaign because it
reaches out to many people in a very efficient way. Many people around the world have some
sort of social media in their lives, so they have access to all mediums in which an advocacy
campaign can be a part of. In his Ted Talk, How Social Media Can Make history, Clay Shirky,
a consultant and teacher on the social and economic effects of Internet technology, discusses the
advantages of communicating via online. During his talk, Shirky says that we are increasingly
in a landscape where media is global, social, ubiquitous and cheap (Shirky). He implies that the
media is becoming more and more accessible so that more people are able to participate in
many to many mediums to communicate about different topics. With the use of social media,
information on the consequences of elephant poaching for their ivory will extend across nations,
and awareness of the decline of the elephant population and its economic and environmental
effects will increase.

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Works Cited
"African Elephant." WorldWildlife.org. World Wildlife Fund, n.d. Web. 11 Aug. 2015.
<https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/african-elephant>.
Bates, Lucy A., Joyce H. Poole, and Richard W. Byrne. "Elephant Cognition." Current Biology
18.13 (2008): R544-546. ScienceDirect. Web. 1 Aug. 2015.
Brandford, Rob. "Dead or Alive? Valuing an Elephant." Iworry (n.d.): n. pag. Iworry.org. Web.
20 Aug. 2015. <http://iworry.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Dead-or-Alive-FinalLR.pdf>.
Byrne, Richard William, Lucy Bates, and Cynthia J. Moss. "Elephant cognition in primate
perspective." Comparative Cognition & Behavior Reviews (2009).
Hakeem, Atiya Y., et al. "Brain of the African elephant (Loxodonta africana): neuroanatomy
from magnetic resonance images." The Anatomical Record Part A: Discoveries in
Molecular, Cellular, and Evolutionary Biology 287.1 (2005): 1117-1127.
Honeyborne, James. "Elephants Really Do Grieve like Us: They Shed Tears and Even Try to
'bury' Their Dead - a Leading Wildlife Film-maker Reveals How the Animals Are like
Us." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 31 Jan. 2013. Web. 02 Aug. 2015.
<http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2270977/Elephants-really-grieve-like-Theyshed-tears-try-bury-dead--leading-wildlife-film-maker-reveals-animals-like-us.html>.

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Irvine, Leslie. If you tame me: Understanding our connection with animals. Temple University
Press, 2008.
Jolly, Allison, Conscious Chimpanzees? A Review of Recent Literature. Cognitive Ethology:
The Minds of Other Animals. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1991. 231252. Print.
Eilperin, Juliet. "Obama to Launch Major Wildlife Trafficking Initiative in Africa." Washington
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<http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2013/07/01/obama-to-launchmajor-wildlife-trafficking-initiative-in-africa/>.
King, Barbara J. How animals grieve. University of Chicago Press, 2013. Print.
O'Donoghue, Paul, and Christian Rutz. "Realtime antipoaching tags could help prevent
imminent species extinctions." Journal of Applied Ecology (2015).
"Save The Elephants - Elephant Crisis Fund." Save The Elephants - Elephant Crisis Fund. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 11 Aug. 2015.
<http://savetheelephants.org/protection/elephant-crisis-fund/>.
Shirky, Clay. How Social Media Can Make History. Ted Talk. June 2009. Web.