As recently as ten years ago, out of every ten African elephants that died, four fell at the hands of poachers. The figure today is eight. Rhinoceroses are being slaughtered throughout their ranges. The Vietnamese one-horned rhinoceros is extinct, the western black rhino is now believed to be extinct, and the northern white rhinoceros, the largest of them all, survives - only precariously - in captivity. This alarming book tells a crime story that takes place thousands of miles away, in countries that few of us may visit. But like the trade in illegal drugs, the traffic in elephant ivory and rhinoceros horn has far-reaching implications not only for these endangered animals, but also for the human victims of a world-wide surge in organized crime, corruption and violence. Since the worldwide ban on ivory trading was passed in 1989, author Ronald Orenstein has been at the heart of the fight. The ban came after a decade that saw half of Africa's elephants slaughtered by poachers. After the ban, Africa's elephants started to recover - but in 1997 the ban was partially relaxed, and in 2008 it was agreed that China could legally import ivory from four designated States in southern Africa. Today a new ivory crisis has arisen - this time, fuelled by internal wars in Africa and a growing market in the Far East. Seizures of smuggled ivory have shot up in the past two years. Bands of militia have crossed from one side of Africa to the other, slaughtering elephants with automatic weapons. At the same time a market surge in Vietnam has led to an onslaught against the world's rhinoceroses, animals far more endangered than elephants. Rhinos are being killed everywhere for their horns, mistakenly believed to cure cancer. Horns have changed hands at prices higher per kilo than for gold. Organised crime has moved into the illegal trade in ivory and rhino horn. The situation, for both elephants and rhinos, is dire. AUTHOR: Ronald Orenstein is a zoologist, lawyer and wildlife conservationist who has written extensively on a wide range of natural history issues. His most recent book is Turtles, Tortoises and Terrapins. He is a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Dr. Iain Douglas-Hamilton is one of the world's foremost authorities on the African elephant. He pioneered the first in-depth scientific study of elephant social behaviour in Tanzania's Lake Manyara National Park at age 23. He founded Save the Elephants in 1993 and was awarded the illustrious Order of the British Empire (OBE). REVIEWS: "Meticulous research, chilling facts.... an important and much needed book". -- Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, Founder, The Jane Goodall Institute "If you care about elephants and rhinos, and the poaching onslaught that threatens their extinction in the wild, this is the book for you." -- Ian Redmond, OBE, Ambassador, UN Great Apes Survival Program 32 pages in colour
