Elephant DNA Helps Catch Poachers

hookedup writes "By mapping the genetic profile of elephant groupings across the African continent, a team of researchers can verify where siezed ivory originated, and alert police to poaching hot spots. The study indicated that 50 percent of the samples tested were accurately located within 300 miles and 80 percent were accurate to within less than 600 miles. While still not a proactive approach, it still is a helpful tool in catching poachers."

Poachers?

[Uplore]

Poaching is illegal?? I'm going to have to scramble instead I think.

call me cynical

[lambent]

"The method allows a DNA sample to be assigned to a fairly specific location, with a relatively high confidence that the assignment is correct. The study indicated that 50 percent of the samples tested were accurately located within 300 miles and 80 percent were accurate to within less than 600 miles."

I don't know ... a 300 mile radius is (approx) 283,000 square miles. and 50% doesn't seem like it would be regarded by anyone as 'relatively high' ... relative to the other 50%, as it were.

I caught an interview with one of these guys on the BBC last night, and they didn't manage to explain exactly how this would help. The article makes it clearer, in that it seems to be useful for determining in which areas laws should be tightened or relaxed.

But it should be made clear that there won't be truck loads of mobile biologists roaming the savannah and forests looking for poachers ... this is a fight that will be fought using legislature. Which is much less glamorous.

sad

[real_smiff]

sad that this story gets 2 replies, when the latest MS/linux/media player scandal gets a hundred in less time. arg, what else can i say really. i find the preservation of an ancient and intelligent creature just a wee bit more interesting, and yet there seems to be nothing anyone can do about it. from what i know the solution to poaching can only be economic/legislative, not scientific/technical. and the people who have the power don't seem to care enough. so so sad. anyone got recent figures on elephant populations?

Re:sad

[Anonymous Coward]

Well there's the obvious issue of exposure - one's front page news, the other isn't - but there's also the scope for discussion: the media player thing is a good talking point, whereas this is just a "cool to know".

Re:DNA Testing Does Not Stop Poachers!

[Anonymous Coward]

Doing DNA tests on poached tusks might determine where the elephant came from, but does nothing to stop the poacher.

Umm.. so knowing in which area and which herds the poacher is operating is not useful in catching him. How do you recon that?

That's not the purpose..

[hung_himself]

As I understand the purpose is to distinguish between legal and illegal ivory. Legal ivory is from government "harvests" in South Africa for example so the location the elephants came from is important.

I guess it could also work with one of the other poster's idea of allowing limited tourist-hunting. Sad that it seems impossible just to ban ivory completely..

Other answers - like hunting

[BenEnglishAtHome]

Anything that cuts down on poaching is a good thing. But there are better ways.

The best is hunting. The history of hunting bans and poaching is a very sad one but one thing made clear a long time ago is that where hunting is legal (and, more arguably, where taking ivory is legal), poaching is far less likely.

It works like this: Where hunting is legal, men (they're almost always men) on safari pay utterly ridiculous amounts of money for the privilege of shooting an elephant. The governments hit these g