Cameroon authorities arrested four ivory smugglers attempting to transport nearly 120 elephant tusks through the country's south, officials said Friday.

The group had trafficked nearly 675 kilograms (1,500 pounds) of the illicit cargo from neighbouring Gabon, which is home to more than half of Africa's remaining forest elephants.

They hid their haul in the bottom of a van with a false compartment, state television reported.

It was the biggest ivory seizure in the West African nation for five years, customs officer Jean-Claude Ekoube told AFP.

Ivory trafficking is fuelled by strong demand in Asia and the Middle East, where elephant tusks are used in traditional medicine.

It is also coveted for its ability to be fashioned into items like combs, pendants and other exotic jewellery.

The global trade in elephant ivory, with rare exceptions, has been outlawed since 1989 after the population of the African animals dropped from millions in the mid-20th century to about 600,000 by the end of that decade.

Related Links
Darwin Today At TerraDaily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Half-measures won't save nature, scientists warn
Paris (AFP) Oct 22, 2020
Bending the curve of nature's rapid decline will require attacking the problem aggressively along several fronts at once, leading scientists warned Thursday. From preventing the extinction of lions and polar bears to halting the destruction of life-sustaining primary forests, only a multi-pronged plan can stitch together a "safety net" for the natural world, they argued in a peer-reviewed commentary in Science. "It will not be enough to have, for example, an ambitious goal for reducing species e ... read more