The sharp decline in the population of elephants in Africa and the increasing illegal trade in elephant ivory has been a source of concern for environmental protection groups. A carbon dating analysis has revealed that poaching contributes up to 90 percent of the illegal trade of ivory on the continent.

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There had been suggestions that recent illegal shipments of invory might not be from recently killed animals, but the legacy of ivory "leaking" out of government stockpiles.

As published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNSA), the study entitled "Radiocarbon dating of seized ivory confirms rapid decline in African elephant populations and provides insight into illegal trade" shows that most of the confiscated ivory were derived from elephants that had died less than three years before ivory was confiscated.

Carbon Dating Analysis

Carbon-14 measurements is an important tool in understanding patterns of movement of illegal wildlife products. The group of researchers conducted carbon-14 measurements on 231 specimens of elephant ivory from 14 large ivory that is around half tons. The ivory pieces were confiscated between 2002 and 2014.

Thure Cerling at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City and his colleagues are the group of researchers

"So that's a very positive finding, that we're not finding government officials selling old ivory or allowing that to happen," Cerling said.

This study showed that the focus on elephant protection must be on the current poaching and not on protecting government stockpiles.

The increasing demand for ivory in Southeast Asia is one of the other problems identified.

Educating potential consumers in these countries is key, Cerling said.

TagsElephant Poachers, isotopes, Carbon Dating, PNSA, Elephant ivory, Corruption