Radiocarbon dating of seized ivory confirms rapid decline in African elephant populations and provides insight into illegal trade

Significance C-14 dating methods can be used to determine the time of death of wildlife products. We evaluate poaching patterns of elephants in Africa by using 14 C to determine lag time between elephant death and recovery of ivory by law enforcement officials. Most ivory in recent seizures has lag times of less than 3 y. Lag times for ivory originating in East Africa are shorter, on average, than the lag times for ivory originating in the Tridom region (Cameroon–Gabon–Congo). The 14 C data show little or no evidence that large-scale ivory shipments contained ivory stockpiled over long time periods. Little, if any, “old” ivory (i.e., >10 y) seems to contribute to large ivory shipments.