Speaking of ivory, everyone is no stranger to it. From a narrow perspective, ivory refers to the tusks of African elephants, males, Asian elephants and mammoths, but it is not used for chewing like human or other teeth. Instead, it is usually used as a tool or defensive weapon. However, we all know that nowadays, ivory trade is common in the world. Many elephants are lost because of the loss of ivory. There is an evil behind this. Interest chain, now that the Shangfang transaction has been banned, why do so many people still want to get it?
Elephant will die after losing ivory
Unlike humans or other animals, if a tooth is lost, it may just be a hindrance to normal activities, but it may be fatal to elephants. First of all, we must know that the elephant is a huge animal, so when it captures its teeth, it will definitely encounter fierce resistance from the elephant. At this time, many hunters often kill the elephants before taking out their teeth. In addition, ivory is evolved from special incisors. The roots of the ivory go deep into the furnace cavity of the upper jaw. Therefore, in order to maximize the benefits, some poachers will pull the ivory by the roots. This is very harmful to the elephant. big.
Many people will think, so why not cut it in half? In fact, there is no problem. You must know that if an elephant’s ivory saw a small section, it would definitely not have much impact on its life. But on the one hand, because this kind of ivory is not complete and its appearance is damaged, it will also be greatly reduced. And because these people remove the entire ivory, it will cause an infection of the pulp cavity of the elephant, which will lead to an infection of the cranial cavity and eventually death.
What is the value of ivory?
Since there are so many people flocking to it, it means that ivory must be of great value. First of all, we must know that the structure of ivory is very complicated. It is composed of dental pulp cavity, cementum, dentin and enamel, while the essential tubules of ivory are straight. In addition to the particularity of its structure, it also has a very high collection value. This is because ivory is very rare, it is white and flawless, and it is an excellent material for carving. In addition, it is also used to make dentures, piano keys, mahjong, etc., and many luxury goods are made through ivory. maded.
Carving with ivory is also a favorite of many sculptors. Its texture is hard, not easy to deform, and it is also very convenient to polish. The handicrafts presented are bright in color and look very beautiful. And for some connoisseurs, they also like the firm and dense texture of ivory, which can be said to be a unique variety among artworks. And ivory crafts are very popular all over the world. In 2010, an auction house in Beijing sold a Guanyin statue of a Ming Dynasty ivory sculpture, which sold for a sky-high price of 17.92 million, setting a record for art auctions in Asia.
Ivory trading has been banned
We must know that the price of ivory and its products is very expensive, and it is deeply loved by people, but while being sought after, it faces the tragedy of large numbers of elephants being slaughtered, and the elephants in Kenya have been slaughtered since 1980. Ten thousand head reduced to 25,000 head. In addition, Oxford University has conducted a survey, showing that only about 1% of the US$500 million in ivory trade reaches Africa, and the rest are in the pockets of middlemen. Therefore, the “International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora” that came into force in 1975 The Convention clearly stipulates that ivory trading is prohibited worldwide, and my country will also completely stop the sale and production of ivory before December 31, 2017.
African elephants evolved into short-toothed elephants
In 2018, it was reported that more than 1/3 of the newly born African elephants have no ivory, or the ivory is very short. So what is the reason? Some people think that they are evolving, but in fact this is also related to human activities. Humans hunt a lot of elephants with long tusks, and only some species with no ivory or short tusks are left, and they continue to reproduce, then the elephants that appear are generally toothless or short tusks. of. In fact, this is not a bad thing, if it is true, it may help them escape.
Not only that, but nowadays people also take mammoth ivory from ancient times as an object. This is because the trade of mammoth ivory is not prohibited. Some of them are frozen in the tundra and some are buried alive in swamps. Many people go to these places to look for mammoth ivory. However, you must know that such behaviors may bring serious consequences and damage to the environment. I don’t know when humans will wake up.