Ivory, Horn and Blood: Behind the Elephant and Rhinoceros Poaching Crisis

Reduced over millennia from vast herds across Eurasia and Africa to tiny remnant populations in Africa and Asia, elephants and rhinoceroses are vulnerable to human predation in a way smaller, more numerous animals can never be. Now, politics, war and economics have converged to create an ecological crisis of epic proportions, one exacerbated by underfunded law enforcement and a vast network of poachers and traffickers. Conservationist Orenstein (Turtles, Tortoises and Terrapins: A Natural History) provides a short but informative guide to this latest phase of the crisis. The work has three sections: a historical context, both ancient and recent, and explanation of what efforts have been made to preserve the remaining populations; a discussion of what went wrong%E2%80%94an unfortunate confluence of misapprehension, human greed and political malfeasance; and what might be done to mitigate the situation. Orenstein rejects a simplistic monochromatic moral worldview, providing a nuanced perspective of the issues involved. Although the situation is serious and some species have already been driven to extinction in recent years, the author does not give into despair. He believes that some of these magnificent animals may yet be saved and that the means to do this are at hand. (Aug.)