Africa's elephants are in danger of becoming extinct. Increased (POACH) on the continent is putting Africa's elephants in danger. Last year about 20000 elephants were killed. Especially in central African countries, elephant populations are down to (ALARM) numbers. In the next ten years the population could be cut by a more than quarter.

At the (BEGIN) of the 20th century there were about 10 million African elephants, now there are about 500000. The rate of killings is higher than the (NATURE) birth rate.

However, (GOVERN) in Africa are taking harsh steps to crack down on poachers. Kenya and Tanzania have arrested more (LEGAL) traders than ever before. Ivory is also confiscated at an increasing rate. Last year 40,000 kilos of ivory were seized, mostly in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. For the first time more ivory was seized in Africa than in Asia, its primary destination. Female elephants are at a higher risk because they have especially large tusks.

(CONSERVE) , however, are not so optimistic. They say that even though more ivory is seized, poaching is still on the increase.

The demand for elephant ivory in China is especially high. It has become even more (VALUE) than gold, selling at thousands of dollars per kilo on Asian markets. In China, ivory is a multi-billion-dollar trade. The expensive material is used in medicine and for (DECORATE) .

Although the international ivory trade has been banned since 1989, poaching rings have been (RUTHLESS) operating across the borders of many African countries. Towards the end of the 1990s the ivory ban was somewhat (LOOSE) to allow some countries to sell off their stockpiles. Critics see this is a major mistake.

(POOR) in many African states lures the local population into taking part in elephant poaching. Soldiers in some countries are reported to be (PARTICIPATE) in the killings of elephants.