Poaching and Terrorism: A National Security Challenge

Elephant and rhino populations in Africa are being decimated by poachers looking for high profits with little risk and little consequences. Between 1990 and 2005, poachers killed an average of 14 rhinos each year in South Africa. In 2013 and again in 2014, they killed over 1,000 rhinos each year. The black rhino population has declined by 93 percent since the 1960s. A total of only five white rhinos are left in the whole world today. Elephants are in just as much trouble. The elephant population has dropped 60 percent since 1979, and poaching numbers rise. Why? It is all about the money. The black market price of ivory in Africa is anywhere between $1,000 and $1,800 per pound. A rhino horn is now worth about $60,000 per kilogram. That is 2.2 pounds. That is twice the value of gold and platinum and more than cocaine or diamonds. In all, the illegal wildlife trade is estimated as a $10 billion to $20 billion a year business.