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09/28/2004:

"DNA Map to Help Combat Ivory Poaching"

The latest weapon to protect dwindling elephant populations from poachers is a genetic map which can trace the origins of ivory, it emerged today.

Using the DNA-based reference map will help conservationists speedily determine poaching levels and could avert a catastrophic fall in the animals' numbers.

A team from the University of Washington in the United States hopes the method will help to identify poaching hotspots, as international pressure mounts for the trade to be legalised again.

Currently, it is hard for experts to keep track of elephant populations in the dense forests of central and western Africa.

Full Article : scotsman.com