Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks of animals. It can come from various kinds of animals like whales, walruses, and elks, but this paper will focus on elephant ivory, the primary source. Consequently, most ivory originates from elephants’ habitat, the plains of Africa and the jungles of Asia. Since ancient times, ivory has been used for art, most commonly ornaments and jewelry, and manufacture of piano keys, dominos, billiard ball, etc. It is valued for its excellent texture for carving. In traditional Chinese medicine, ivory is also a common material. It is said to purge toxins and wastes from the body. However, this is merely a myth. One might as well chew on his or her own fingernails to get the healing effect since the substances are about the same. According to a report by Gettleman (2012), 70% of illegal ivory ended up in China. This huge demand from China and also elsewhere in Asia has led to a surge of ivory poaching in Africa. Many problems have derived from this illicit action. The most notable one is the decrease in elephant population. Therefore, society as well as governments should take action to stop ivory poaching in order to protect elephants.

        A report by Scriber (2014) found that “ivory-seeking poachers have killed 100,000 African elephants in just three years.” It is also stated that one out of every dozen African elephants died of poaching in 2011. Since the price for ivory is very high, poachers from poor countries, especially central Africa, go to extremes to harvest it. This led to the elephant population in central Africa dropping by 62% in just a decade (Maisels et al., 2013). This means elephants could be extinct in just 20 years. Elephants are highly intelligent and sensitive animals, but now they are endangered by human’s selfish interest. African elephants are listed as a vulnerable species under the category of threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. This means that they are very likely to become endangered unless the act of poaching can be stopped. According to a survey I conducted, 56.5% of the respondents think ivory can be harvested without killing the elephant (Figure 1). While this is technically true, it rarely happens. Since ivory literally means “elephant teeth” in Chinese, this can lead to a misunderstanding that it can be removed like pulling out a decayed tooth. Nevertheless, to be specific, ivory refers to tusks, which means 1/3 of them are embedded in the skull. This makes it almost impossible for poachers to harvest ivory without killing an elephant. Unlike humans who can grow out adult teeth, one elephant only has 2 tusks throughout their life. The only possible way without killing is to take the ivory from one that dies naturally. Unfortunately, poachers use cruel methods like guns, poisons, and chainsaws. If the problem of ivory poaching goes on, it is only a matter of time before elephants become extinct. Therefore, I would like to offer some solutions below to this urgent issue.