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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 young girl, I thought wild animals like lions and rhinos were 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 when I was 8 years old. It started with
my first encounter with an elephant. I remember being 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, Ive been in awe of elephants.
Although I know elephants are sentient creatures, many people do not share this knowledge,
thinking animals in general are void of thought and reason, and thus have no rights to be treated
well; this idea that human animals have greater moral rights than non-human animals is what
Richard Ryder, a British writer and animal rights advocate, coined the term Speciesism. Until
human perceptions have been changed, elephants will be poached for their ivory without any
consideration that they are a keystone species necessary for the well-being of an entire
ecosystem. In addition, the ivory trade, as well as terrorism funded by the ivory trade, will still
continue on.
Review of the Scientific Literature: Elephant Cognition
In the 4 century BC, Aristotle denied that animals possess thought, reason, intellect, and
th

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 introduced the concept cognitive

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ethology that scientific inquiry into animal cognition became respectable (Jolly 231) that old and
new studies of animal cognition were acknowledged. Bernhard Rensch (1957), a German
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. This portion of the essay will discuss
examples of research into elephant behavior that indicates the consciousness and high
intelligence of African and Asian elephants. 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
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

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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, they write: 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 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.

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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 behavior within a social environment (5). Described in their
research, elephants know about each other and their interactions. In Elephant Cognition, Byrne
et al, (2008) discuss that using their urine- moving experiment, elephants have knowledge of
individual identities and are able recognize and keep track of at least 17 different female family
members (71). Byrne et. als 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, which explains how elephants are able to recognize and mourn their
dead loved ones.
This scientific research in the last decade proves 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 and that they are

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able to grieve and feel pain like humans. 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.

Ivory Trade, Elephant Poaching, and the Decline of the Elephant Population
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. This extinction is more troubling when the science that proves their
intelligence, such as Hakeems study on the elephant brain, Kings study on elephant grief, and
Byrne et. als study on elephant behavior in their social environment are considered.
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

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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 in Hakeems study on the elephant cerebral cortex and hippocampus, the
elephant brain is very similar to that of a human. 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. In addition, 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, 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

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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. Not only is elephant trunk
used to examine the corpse and bones of loved ones, as mentioned in Barbara J. Kings study on
elephant grief, and used to identify other members of the family with their olfactory smell, as
discussed in Byrne et. als study on elephant behavior, but it is also used as an appendage to pull,
push, and grab onto things. Given their size and strength, elephants are able to push woody
plants over and yank 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 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).

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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 that gives incentives for poachers to kill elephants. The illegal ivory
market fuels trafficking from Africa to East Asia, and the illegal trade amounts to a massive
financial transfer out of the poorest parts of Africa to benefit corrupt politicians, crime
syndicates, warlords, and terrorists (Brunker, McLavry). According to Elizabeth L. Bennett of
the Wildlife Conservation Society in Bronx, New York, With organized criminal enterprises
involved along the whole commodity clan, 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 financial incentives to break the law heavily outweigh those of abiding it (Bennett
1). As these incentives grow, the ivory trade will continue to fund terrorism as the money made

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from the trade goes to corrupt organizations. 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 and the
consequences of speciesism.
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 addition to governmental proposals, animal welfare organizations like the World Wildlife
Fund (WWF) that has come up with solutions against elephant have come up with solutions to
end elephant poaching. This organization seeks donations to support 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 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 these proposals are focused
on prohibiting elephant poaching, which is thought to be the most practical way, other people
argue that legalizing ivory can stop poaching.
Daniel Stiles, a member of the IUCN/SSC African Elephant Specialist Group, proposes
that a limited legal trade in ivory is likely to help elephants more than banning the ivory trade
completely. He compares the ban-ivory-everywhere approach to that of the War on Drugs,
in which the confiscation of drugs results in in the rise of criminal gangs, widespread corruption
of government officials, and the increase of illegal drug use (4). The consequences of the
prohibitionist approach to the ivory trade will only mirror that to the illegal drug trade, which
will increase the rate of elephant poaching and the increase in the demand for ivory. He states
that there are flaws in the prohibitionist argument, one, for example, addresses that corruption is
so widespread that no system of legal trade could ever work. Stiles solution to this argument is
to involve the African government into a regulated trade because if ivory and other wildlife
products could meaningfully contribute to their livelihoods in a legal manner, [Africans] will be
motivated to manage wildlife for the future (9). Overall, Stiles advocates for a system that

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provides incentives to obey the law, not the prohibitionist approach where the incentives are to
break the law.
Although government and organization proposals are important, the end to elephant
poaching will not occur unless regular people make the effort to stop it. A grassroots solution,
and the most effective 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. An example of how advocating
against the ivory trade is implemented into social media is the film Last Days, which was a
served as a public service announcement that shows the connection between terrorism and
elephant poaching, and also the risk of extinction of wild elephants within the next 10 years. The
film then became a cause to educate people of the problem of the illegal ivory trade (End IvoryFunded Terrorism). With its own website and the use of a social media platform, Last Days was
able to reach 934 followers on Twitter and 367,656 views on Youtube. The films success proves
that social media is impactful because the film was accessible.
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, Professor of Media Studies at New York
University, 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

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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>.
Bennett, Elizabeth L. "Legal ivory trade in a corrupt world and its impact on African elephant

populations." Conservation Biology 29.1 (2015): 54-60.

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
Post. The Washington Post, n.d. Web. 20 Aug. 2015.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2013/07/01/obama-to-launchmajor-wildlife-trafficking-initiative-in-africa/>.
"End Ivory-Funded Terrorism." End Ivory-Funded Terrorism. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Aug. 2015.
<http://www.lastdaysofivory.com/>.
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.
Stiles, Daniel. "Only Legal Ivory Can Stop Poaching." Only Legal Ivory Can Stop Poaching.

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N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Aug. 2015.
<http://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/eij/article/stiles/>.