Mammoth task of identifying legal ivory made simpler and cheaper by isotope analysis

Mammoth tusk

Source: © Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis/Getty Images

Technique could help authorities tell legal mammoth ivory from poached elephant ivory

Stable isotope analysis could offer a new tool in the fight against wildlife poaching by helping differentiate legal mammoth ivory from illegal elephant ivory. The method is faster and cheaper than existing techniques and could help authorities reduce the illicit killing of elephants by identifying illegal specimens.