Our laser technique can tell apart elephant and mammoth ivory – here’s how it may disrupt the ivory trade

• In recent years, the global trade in elephant ivory has faced significant restrictions in an effort to protect dwindling elephant populations.
• The sale of mammoth ivory, sourced primarily from long-extinct species, however, remains unregulated.
• But it’s a significant challenge for customs and law enforcement agencies to distinguish between ivory from extinct mammoths and living elephants.
• Now our new study, published in PLOS ONE, presents a major breakthrough – using a well known laser technique to tell mammoth and elephant ivory apart.

This activity not only has commercial implications. It also raises significant ethical and environmental concerns. That’s because it disturbs preserved ecosystems and involves the extraction of resources that have great value to paleontological science.

Laser insights

• We use a non-invasive laser technique known as Raman spectroscopy to identify the origin of a piece of ivory.
• The technique works by directing a laser light onto the ivory sample.
• This released light scatters back with more or less energy than the initial laser light sent to the sample.

Important implications

• This makes it an ideal tool for customs officials who need to make rapid decisions.
• Our study was conducted on a benchtop spectrometer (a device which breaks up light by wavelength) within a laboratory.
• We are working with Worldwide Wildlife Hong Kong and the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office to develop this technique.

Rebecca Shepherd receives funding from EPSRC and the FCDO.