Kenya Ivory Burn April 201632

The largest ivory burn ever has recently taken place in Kenya, more than 7 times the size of the previous largest and involving the tusks of more than 8000 African elephants. Piles of African elephant ivory and rhino horn were set on fire in Nairobi National Park, Kenya, 30th April 2016. The Kenya Wildlife Authority (KWS) and other officials burnt over 105 tons of elephant ivory and one ton of rhino horn (estimated to be 5% of the current world stockpile) in a display intended to combat the growing threat of wildlife poaching in a ceremony officiated by the Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and Gabon President Ali Bongo Ondimba. The photographs were taken by Bruce Davidson, who specialises in documenting Africa's willdife and conservation issues. Burning large quantities of ivory is logistically difficult because of the high temperatures required in a process that will take days to reduce the ivory and horn staked in 11 pyres to ash. The ivory and horn bonfire on the edge of the Nairobi National Park, Kenya, is the largest stockpile ever destroyed. The ivory comes from about 8,000 animals and it is estimated to be worth more than $150 million. One kg of ivory is currently worth between $1,000 - $1,500 on the Asian market, and just one tusk can be worth around $60,000 once it is fashioned into a decorative ornament. Kenya plans to push for a world ban on ivory sales at the 17th meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in South Africa in late 2016.