Ivory destruction Despite efforts to destroy ivory, criminals are becoming more organised, ingenious and dangerous. "We have seen more and more organised crime networks moving into the wildlife trade," says Davyth Stewart from Interpol, the international intelligence agency. "Groups who have been traditionally involved in drug trafficking, fire arms and human trafficking are now moving onto wildlife." It's clearly not a fair match: conservationists pitted against criminal gangs. But the wildlife experts say it's a fight they have to take on. They have gathered at the Zoological Society of London to tackle how to halt the rapidly growing trade in animals. The backdrop to these crisis talks is bleak. Thousands of rhinos, elephants, tigers and others have been slaughtered, becoming part of an illegal market that's worth an estimated $19bn a year. Many criminals see it as low risk, high profit, says Mr Stewart. "There is a lower risk of apprehension, it's unfortunate but law enforcement has not invested the resources in attacking wildlife crime as it has in other crimes," he explains. "Even in courts the penalties are much lower. Just last year in Ireland, we saw two people arrested for smuggling rhino horns worth half a million euros. They received a 500-euro fine." Demand and supply John Sellar, the former chief of enforcement at Cites (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), says the focus of the battle should be shifted away from conservation towards the issue of criminality. "It's about locking up the bad guys," he tells the conference.

Located 160km north of Nairobi, Solio Reserve is the premier place in Africa to see black and white rhino in the wild, but these precious animals are at the heart of a bloody poaching battle. The previous night, armed rangers who patrol the park’s 48km-long electric fence saw three men with tools and guns try to enter the reserve – and the previous month they discovered poachers cutting a hole in the fence near where a pair of cheetah makes their den. On both occasions, the rangers won out, but it was an unsettling reminder that the battle for the survival of one of Africa’s most endangered species is far from won. The problem is so rampant in central Kenya, where breeders have made in-roads into breeding rhinos in captivity on private reserves, that during the monthly full moon cycle, when poachers are not reliant on torches or headlamps for light, the rhinos need to be protected 24 hours a day. Tragically, in 2012 Solio lost at least 12 out of around 220. “Solio represents the heartbeat of rhino conservation in Kenya,” said Felix Patton, the reserve’s rhino monitoring coordinator. “Because of that, the poaching pressure is ever present – so there is a need to bring in more income to sustain the rhinos’ security and habitat. More importantly, though, we need to change the poacher’s attitudes – because the real value of rhino horn is completely misunderstood.

Forest elephants in the Central African Republic have become a new target for poaching gangs. Men armed with Kalashnikov rifles have massacred 26 elephants in the Dzanga-Ndoki National Park in the Central African Republic, say conservationists. WWF reported the number of carcasses, quoting its sources in the region. Concern about what was happening in the park was raised earlier this week when it was said that ivory poachers were using a scientist's observation platform to shoot the animals. Elephants regularly gather at the Bai, a large clearing, to drink. Since the shooting, no elephants have been seen in the area, WWF reported. The Dzanga-Ndoki Park, a World Heritage Site, is located in the south-western corner of the Central African Republic (CAR), where it borders Cameroon and the Republic of Congo. It is described as a unique habitat for forest elephants in particular. CAR has witnessed increased levels of violence since the beginning of the year, and conservation groups like WWF withdrew their staff from the Bai are for safety reasons. On Monday, the conservation group issued a warning that a 17 armed individuals, some with heavy-calibre rifles, had entered the park and was heading for the Bai, known locally as the "village of elephants". By the time the armed men had left, the Bai was said to resemble an "elephant mortuary", WWF said. Jim Leape, WWF International Director General, added: "The Central African Republic must act immediately to secure this unique World Heritage Site.

African elephant poaching threatens wildlife future.

Three elephant corpses lay piled on top of one another under the scorching Kenyan sun.