Why woolly mammoth ivory could spell trouble for elephants

Most woolly mammoths died 10,500 years ago, but many of them are still perfectly preserved.

Their bodies have been sheltered by permanently frozen ground known as permafrost. But as our planet’s climate changes and the permafrost melts, these prehistoric giants are being revealed to the world once again.

Just like elephants, mammoths had enormous tusks made of ivory. Their permafrost preservation has made them an attractive source of ivory for buyers.

Conservationists are hoping this influx of material onto the market will reduce the desire for elephant ivory, but nothing is guaranteed.

What is ivory and how do people use it?

Ivory is a hard, creamy-white material that forms the teeth of some mammals, including elephants, mammoths, walruses, hippos, and killer whales. Ivory is mostly made of dentine – the same material that makes up human teeth.

Elephant ivory has been coveted throughout history, from the Roman Empire to the modern day. It’s become intricately intertwined in some religions and cultures, including those of Indigenous communities.

In China, elephant ivory has been considered a luxurious product since ancient times and symbolises wealth and status. Early emperors would hire highly-skilled craftsmen to carve detailed ivory artwork for their homes.

In India, people have carved elephant ivory into religious statues for thousands of years. Ivory bangles worn by women were common when there were more elephants and fewer people.

Elephants are highly respected animals in Africa. In some communities their ivory is used as a status symbol.

Since the Industrial Revolution, ivory has been used for all sorts of everyday items in the west, including billiard balls, piano keys and knife handles.

Elephants and the ivory trade

Global demand for elephant tusks has driven years of bloodshed. Less than a century ago, around 10 million wild elephants roamed the African continent. After decades of poaching and conflict, the African elephant population now stands at a mere 415,000 individuals.

Lucy Vigne is an expert on the ivory trade based in Kenya and affiliated to Oxford Brookes University.

“To walk or drive in an area with elephants and watch them in their natural habitats is an awe-inspiring experience,” says Lucy.

“These huge mammals are gentle with one another – they’re always watching over each other and checking on their young. It’s a very caring society and I guess that’s why we, as humans, are so enamoured by them because we can see ourselves in them – our good, caring and compassionate side.”

But the demand for ivory is causing these magnificent creatures to be killed in their thousands. It’s estimated that, on average, 55 African elephants are killed every day for their ivory tusks.

In 1989, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) banned the international commercial trade of ivory. Domestic bans came into effect in some countries several years ago – including the UK’s Ivory Act 2018 – but this bloody trade persists via a sophisticated black market.

Also faced with challenges from expanding human activities, habitat loss and fragmentation, time is running out for elephants.

Melting permafrost and woolly mammoth tusks

Enter mammoth ivory. The sale of this material is legal and has been increasing steadily. Mammoth ivory is generally found during the summer months when the tundra melts. The ground then freezes over again for the rest of the year.

But with global warming, more parts of permafrost are now melting to reveal ancient mammoth tusks faster than before. This has caused a ‘gold-rush’ for mammoth ivory.

Siberian locals have hurried to sites where mammoth fossils are usually found, to recover tusks that could change their lives forever – for better or worse.

Digging for mammoth ivory is a dangerous task. It requires deep excavation into the hard ground and perilous journeys into mosquito-ridden caves. To retrieve the tusks, a water pump is used, which often disturbs the earth in the vicinity, risking a collapse or flood at any moment. Serious injury and death aren’t uncommon on such jobs.

But if a mammoth tusk is found, it could mean financial freedom for a family. One tusk in good condition could sell for thousands of pounds.

“At the moment, the locals are doing their best to make money because it’s really hard to find work in that area,” Lucy explains. “So they’re digging into the ground, which is dangerous for them and not ideal for the fossils, which could become damaged in the process.”

A licence and increased paperwork are now required to sell mammoth ivory. When exporting to another country, the products are usually checked by authorities, which can take months, and the traders lose money.

China is the largest consumer of ivory and some dealers have been buying mammoth tusks directly from Siberian tusk collectors. The tusks are transported back to China without going through a legal process that comes with high tariffs.

In the process, the tusk collectors in Siberia are sometimes exploited. They sell their tusks to these dealers at a much lower rate while the Chinese traders make big profits in this recent rush for mammoth ivory.

“It’d be better if tusk hunters were incentivised to work with Russian scientists instead,” says Lucy. “That way, they don’t feed the black market and they could retrieve the tusks properly and carefully.”

“The fossils could be used for important scientific research. Perhaps they could even find other important carcasses that scientists don’t usually have funds to look for, such as the woolly rhinos.”

Differences between mammoth ivory and elephant ivory

In its whole form, ivory is easy to differentiate. Mammoths had huge, spiralling tusks, whereas elephant tusks are straighter. Mammoth tusks also have a brown outer peel.

However, when ivory is cut into smaller pieces, it can be much harder to distinguish. This makes it easy to pass off illegal elephant ivory as legal mammoth tusks.

One way of identifying whether a tusk has come from a woolly mammoth or an elephant is by cutting into it and observing cross patterns, known as Schreger lines. The Schreger lines in mammoth tusks are usually narrower than a 90° angle, and wider in elephants at an angle of over 115°.

In China, fresh material from living animals is considered more potent.

Lucy says, “top master carvers usually prefer elephant ivory to mammoth as it’s more predictable. With mammoth ivory, you’re not sure if it’ll crumble as it’s been underground for so long.”

“However, if a carver can work with the flaws and include them in the artwork, this can mean he is more skilled and the art can be a unique piece compared to all the similar-looking ornaments that have flooded the market.”

The ongoing fight against the ivory trade

China has made efforts to fight the illegal ivory trade by implementing a domestic ban on 31 December 2017.

But despite increased regulations in recent years, these have proved difficult to implement. The illegal trade continues to exist, including in other Asian countries, such as Laos and Vietnam, mainly for Chinese customers. Ivory items are trafficked across borders into mainland China.

While banning the ivory trade helps in some ways, it also forces the trade to go underground, making it harder to tackle.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is working with customs officials and travel and tourism companies to raise awareness amongst travellers about the illegal trade and discourage them from buying ivory.

WWF is also researching consumer mentality to understand why some people continue to purchase ivory despite knowing the bloody history and risks. The aim of this fresh approach is to establish the concept that buying ivory is socially unacceptable.

While an influx of mammoth ivory provides a cruelty-free alternative to elephant ivory, it needs to be well-regulated. It comes with its own issues, including environmental damage, exploitation and fuelling the black market.

What’s more, lots of people don’t care where the material has come from as long as it looks like ivory. This gives unscrupulous traders a reason to continue to demand elephant ivory.

“In order to reduce the illegal ivory trade, you have to look at the demand side. China needs to concentrate on this as they’re the ones that understand their own culture. It’s not for the west to come in and tell them what to do,” says Lucy.

“It boils down to political will and if governments aren’t interested in curbing the illegal wildlife trade and don’t put it as a high priority, it’s going to be very difficult to tackle.”