Ivory trade

Sources

Ivory used to be sourced from Africa the ivory mostly came from elephants but came from hippo teeth as well. A much smaller amount of ivory was sourced from narwhale horns, walrus tusks and whale teeth.  Ivory was also sourced from Asia; this ivory also mostly came from elephants.

 Now that ivory trade is mostly illegal ivory has increased in price and is sold on the black market by poachers who hunt the elephants and hippos. Now days it is also sourced from fossilized mammoths, this is legal because it is not endangering any “living” creatures. A species of hard nut is being used as a replacement for ivory although it has limited usability due to its size. It is sometimes called vegetable ivory and is the seed endosperm of the ivory nut palm commonly found in coastal rainforests of Ecuador. Until 2007 you were even able to purchase elephant ivory on eBay until they were pressured into banning it by the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

African elephant sources:

Asian elephant sources:

Supposed narwhale Ivory buyers:

Supposed elephant ivory buyers:

Supposed walrus ivory buyers:








By Jordan Woodhouse