"A record number of large ivory seizures have been made globally this year, pointing to a surge in elephant poaching in Africa to meet Asian demand for tusks for use in jewellery and ornaments, according to an international conservation group."

"Traffic, which tracks trends in wildlife trading, said at least 13 large-scale seizures of over 800kg of ivory were recorded in 2011, compared with six in 2010.

'A conservative estimate of the weight of ivory seized in the 13 largest seizures in 2011 puts the figure at more than 23 tonnes, a figure that probably represents some 2,500 elephants, possibly more,' it said.

Tom Milliken, who is based in Zimbabwe and manages Traffic's Elephant Trade Information System, said 2011 was the worst year for large seizures he had seen in the more than two decades he had been running the database."

Reuters had the story December 29, 2011. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"A Boom Year for Illicit Elephant Ivory" (Green/NYT) [3]