At this unprecedented rate, what will poachers spare?

And now we are told that the hippopotamus is the new target for poachers owing to its teeth that are carved into ornaments.

The same way many are baffled by what people do with elephant tusks, equally weird is how on earth hippo teeth can pass as ornaments worth buying with hard-earned cash. Wonders will never cease in the world of poaching.

The illegal trade in the so-called ornaments reportedly fetches lots dirty money in Asia, sending armies of poachers into the wild to get the government trophies at all costs.

According to a report entitled ‘Fighting the Underground Trade in Hippo Teeth’, released in December last year, poaching cartels operating in Tanzania and elsewhere in Africa have recently turned to hippos for their teeth which are carved into ornaments fetching millions of dollars in Asia.

In response to the reports, the government has said plans are underway to conduct the first countrywide census of the animals as a protective measure. The last national census specifically for hippos was conducted in 2001 and the total count put the countrywide population at 20,079.

The government’s official position is that although Tanzania has a licensing system allowing hippo sport hunting and the sale of teeth collected from those that die natural death, the formal issuance of permits for export of hippo teeth has been suspended since 2004.

Meanwhile, records of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) show that between 2004 and 2014 Hong Kong reported importing almost 60 tonnes of teeth from wild hippos in Africa for commercial purposes.

Trade figures show that Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi are now the major source countries. This bad news has burst before us even before the dust has settled on the celebratory mood brought about by the recent announcement by the world’s biggest ivory market – China – that it was to take steps at home that could save thousands of elephants in Africa.

A coalition of 15 African countries operating as the Elephant Protection Initiative (EPI) earlier this week applauded China’s commitment to closing its domestic ivory markets by the end of this year.

The closure of China’s ivory market, the foremost destination for ivory from innumerable poached elephants, is widely considered to be the single most important step to securing a future for elephants in their current range.

But the concern of our government and conservationists is not on the plight of jumbos alone, as hippos and a host of other protected animals are in danger too.

This means that poachers are hell-bent on destroying our wildlife, which is our heritage and the heart of our economy chiefly through tourism, for their own gain and the twisted desires of their customers.

When gains are made on one front, these ruthless cartels inflict damage on the other – and they don’t show any signs of stopping at will. They have to be stopped because it appears they won’t spare anything.