While trading/procuring elephant ivory is illegal, it is not illegal to sell ivory from extinct species, such as preserved mammoth tusk ivory.
This legal source of ivory, said to be part of an increasing and lucrative ‘mammoth hunter’ industry, poses a time-consuming and enforcement problem for customs teams as ivory from these two different types of tusk are broadly similar, making it difficult to distinguish from one another, especially once specimens have become worked or carved.
In this new EPSRC-funded study published in PLOS ONE, scientists from Bristol’s School of Anatomy and Lancaster Medical School sought to establish whether Raman spectroscopy could be modified to accurately detect differences in the chemistry of mammoth and elephant ivory. The non-destructive technology, which involves shining a high-energy light at an ivory specimen, can detect small biochemical differences in elephant and mammoth tusks.
Researchers scanned samples of mammoth and elephant tusks from London’s Natural History Museum using the laser based method and results showed that the technology provided accurate, quick and non-destructive species identification.
In a statement, Dr Rebecca Shepherd, formerly of Lancaster Medical School and now at Bristol University’s School of Anatomy, said: “The gold standard method of identification recommended by The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for assessing the legality of ivory predominantly are expensive, destructive and time-consuming techniques.
“Raman spectroscopy can provide results quickly - a single scan takes only a few minutes - and is easier to use than current methods, making it easier to determine between illegal elephant ivory and legal mammoth tusk ivory. Increased surveillance and monitoring of samples passing through customs worldwide using Raman spectroscopy could act as a deterrent to those poaching endangered and critically endangered species of elephant.”
The 2016 African Elephant Database survey estimated a total of 410,000 elephants remaining in Africa, a decrease of approximately 90,000 elephants from the previous 2013 report.
Alice Roberts, Professor of Public Engagement in Science, from Birmingham University and one of the study’s co-authors, said: “There’s a real problem when it comes to stamping down on the illegal trade in elephant ivory. Because trading in ancient mammoth ivory is legal. The compete tusks of elephants and mammoths look very different, but if the ivory is cut into small pieces, it can be practically impossible to tell apart elephant ivory from well-preserved mammoth ivory. I was really pleased to be part of this project exploring a new technique for telling apart elephant and mammoth ivory. This is great science, and should help the enforcers - giving them a valuable and relatively inexpensive tool to help them spot illegal ivory."
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