The Value and Popularity of Ivory
For those who don’t know, Ivory is a hard white material that is found in the tusks of elephants and other tusked animals like hippos and walruses. Although rhinos have similar looking horns, these aren’t actually made from ivory. However, rhinos are also illegally hunted for their horns because they are used in lots of medicines in China and the Far East in general.
In China and Hong Kong, ivory is seen as precious material and is used in ornaments and jewellery. It’s also sometimes used in traditional Chinese medicine. Many affluent Chinese people think that owning ivory makes them look more successful. Others think that ivory will bring them good luck. China has the biggest ivory trade in the world and wildlife experts believe that approximately 70 per cent of the world’s ivory ends up there.
Posted in Elephants