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Lankan tuskers maybe victims of growing Chinese demand for ivory, Global wildlife watchdog warns
China is fuelling the rising demand worldwide for ivory and increased elephant poaching in Sri Lanka is probably a reflection of this, said the spokesman for a global wildlife trade monitoring network.
A 2011 elephant survey (the last one to be done) found 5,879 wild elephants in Sri Lanka of which only 122 were tuskers. The adult tuskers of over 30-years-old numbered just 55; another 35 were sub-adults with tusks, between the ages of 15 and 30 years; and 32 were juveniles between five and 14 years.
From a carver’s perspective, Asian elephant ivory was considered more desirable than African elephant ivory. “To be perfectly blunt,” said Richard Thomas, the London-based spokesman for TRAFFIC, “it’s unsurprising that your nation’s elephants are now being targeted”.
This was particularly so if there was a largely ‘untapped’ source of ivory in Sri Lanka and if law enforcement (and other aspects) made it relatively easy to smuggle out.
“Perhaps more surprising is that they’ve not previously been targeted,” Mr Thomas continued. Already, around 20,000 African elephants are poached each year for their ivory.
TRAFFIC is an international NGO that specialises in wildlife trade. It manages the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS) on behalf of parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). This is a database of global ivory and other elephant product seizures dating back to 1989.
The 2016 data analyses found Sri Lanka to be a “country of secondary concern” that was a transit point for ivory movement. To address this, it needed to step up monitoring of shipments passing through its ports and its profiling of suspicious cargoes, Mr Thomas said. Adequate trained manpower and resources were essential.
But Sri Lanka is also now seeing elephants being killed for ivory. Even in countries where slaying for ivory was not previously an issue, there is cross-continental cooperation. “There is strong evidence that organised criminal networks are very much run by Asian-based kingpins, who organise the shipments,” Mr Thomas pointed out.
Small items are generally smuggled by people in their hand or hold luggage on flights (China makes several such seizures every day). However, the smuggling of large shipments of 500kg or more is considered to be the work of organised criminal networks.
Preventing poaching on the ground is now absolutely key, Mr Thomas said. The assistance of local communities–they can be the eyes and ears –is essential. An adequate number of rangers, who are appropriately trained and care for, are needed. Many do not even have death-in-service insurance or benefits to care for their families, should the worst happen.
“Importantly, whenever a significant ivory seizure is made involving or implicating Sri Lanka, the authorities should liaise with their enforcement colleagues in other countries to find out more about who is behind the shipment and carry out forensic analysis to determine where it originated,” Mr Thomas said. “Such actions all help to piece together information about those orchestrating the trafficking. Kingpins should be sought out and brought to justice.”
Felled by human greed: ‘Dala-poottuwa’ of Galgamuwa (above) and tusker from Moragoda Alagolla (right). Pix by Hiran Priyankara and Athula Bandara
While the main driver of ivory demand is China, ivory market dynamics are changing rapidly. On December 31, the Chinese Government will close its legal domestic ivory market, with bans set to come into place in Hong Kong. At the same time, TRAFFIC has observed an increase in ivory processing in Africa (implicating Chinese nationals) and the growth of ivory markets catering largely to Chinese buyers in Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos and Japan.
Male tuskers were considered the gene holders of tusks. But female tuskers that do not display these enlarged incisors also contribute towards producing future generations of tuskers. The Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC), which is facing allegations of dereliction of duty, said it did its best to protect elephants.
However, they roamed in long stretches of land and the DWC had limited resources to track them.
| Conservationist debunks gaja muthu myth, new wildlife Ministry Secretary promises to control elephant culling for ivory | |
| Sri Lankans have started looking for tusks and ‘elephant pearls’ or ‘gaja muthu’ owing to the myth that these bring about good luck, an activist against the illegal trade in flora and fauna said.“This is complete rubbish,” said Samantha Gunasekera, founder of the Customs’ Biodiversity Protection Unit. “The tooth of an animal cannot cause good luck. It is a piece of dead carcass. But illicit traders, politicians have given it a false value.” Demand is enhanced when the Wildlife Department and police announce to media that they have caught criminals with priceless tusks and cite various monetary values. “The Wildlife Department even keeps the full skeleton and tusks of the Siyambalangamuwa tusker who was killed during translocation, symbolizing that elephant tusks are worth a fortune,” Mr Gunasekera criticized. The demand for elephant pearls appears to be country-specific. “I’ve not heard of an international demand for elephant pearls,” said Richard Thomas, TRAFFIC Spokesman. “My understanding is they are stones that form inside elephants, at the base of tusks, but are not true pearls.” Mr Thomas said elephant pearls had great significance in India. It was possible they had the same importance in Sri Lanka. “I guess there are some parallels with porcupine bezoars, which are in high demand in Malaysia and said to have healing properties,” he reflected. “They, too, form inside the animals.” Mr Gunasekera was the gemologist at Customs Department for several years. He reiterated that there was no value in gaja muthu. “The common belief is that elephant pearls are formed by a piece of tusk falling into the tusk cavity and rubbing itself into a pearl form throughout the elephant’s lifetime,” he said. “This is wrong. Elephant tusks contain a gel. There is no cavity.” The conservationist also suspected that the renewed interest in elephant tusks in Sri Lanka could be fuelled by Chinese tourists and workers who come here for development projects. It is a thriving black market. In recent months, the Customs Department has detected people trying to smuggle out pangolin scales, wallapatta bark, oyster shells and other bio matter. The authorities must now act swiftly. It was also urgent to close the gaps in the Flora and Fauna Protection Ordinance. Acts against wildlife must be treated as a serious crime that warrants maximum punishment. The Department must actively campaign against poaching. But new Wildlife Ministry Secretary Douglas Nanayakkara says elephant culling cannot be stopped but only reduced. “I have to look for the most effective way to control the numbers of elephant culling for ivory,” Mr Nanayakkara, who replaced transferred Secretary R. M. D. B. Meegasmulla, said. “Like any crime, culling of elephants can only be reduced, not stopped. With the help of the Minister and officials, I will try my best to reduce elephant deaths.” He also pledged to strictly implement the law against the illegal ivory trade and poaching–something that has not happened thus far. |