500 Kgs of ivory seized from poachers in Kenya

One of the tusks siezed from poachers in Kenya. Credit KWS.

April 2009. Two wildlife crime suspects have pleaded guilty to charges of illegal possession of ivory in Kenya. The two suspects, one from Tanzania and one from Kenya, were remanded until May 4, 2009 when they will be sentenced.

The two men were arrested with a huge haul of ivory near the Kenya-Tanzania border. They had been intercepted in a sports utility vehicle carrying 512 kg of elephant tusks.

167,000 in 1963 - 33,000 now
The actual value of the ivory is incalculable bearing in mind that it was extracted from 35 to 40 murdered elephants. The haul of ivory represents a huge toll on the Kenyan tourism industry as well as the ecosystems from which the elephants lived. This is a major setback to Kenyan efforts to the recovery of elephant populations after elephant numbers dropped from 167,000 in 1963 to the current 33,000.

Courtesy of the Kenyan Wildlife Service