[2015.09] National Geographic Magazine.pdf

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NATIONAL GEOG RAPHIC CHANNEL
Warlords of Ivory
CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS
SEPTEMBER 2015
IVORY
A smuggled tusk.
A hidden GPS chip.
A crime story.
Myanmar’s
Toughest Climb
Colorful Language
of Chameleons
Threatened
Buddhist Treasures
september
2015 •
vol.
228 •
no.
3
30
Tracking Ivory
In Africa some militias fund opera-
tions by trading elephant ivory. Can
a fake tusk help thwart them?
By Bryan Christy
Photographs by Brent Stirton
92
True Colors
Scientists explore the chameleon’s
expressive color changes, trick
tongue—and vanishing habitat.
By Patricia Edmonds
Photographs by Christian Ziegler
110
Rescuing Mes Aynak
In Afghanistan a fortune in copper
ore lies buried beneath a trove of
ancient Buddhist artifacts.
By Hannah Bloch
Photographs by Simon Norfolk
130
Proof | Art From an American Backyard
Armed with a cell phone, a photographer
catalogs the local flora and fauna.
By James Estrin
Photographs by Joshua White
On the Cover
An artificial tusk like this one was outfitted with a transmit-
ter and planted in the ivory market so that its travels—and traders’ illegal
activities—could be tracked.
Photograph by Rebecca Hale, NGM Staff
Corrections and Clarifications
Go to
ngm.com/more.
60
Point of No Return
Is Hkakabo Razi in fact the tallest mountain in Myanmar? Attempting to take its measure, a team
of climbers risked everything.
By Mark Jenkins Photographs by Cory Richards
Above a sea of clouds, Renan Ozturk
pauses on a slope of Hkakabo Razi.
He was one of three climbers making
a summit attempt on the mountain,
believed to be Myanmar’s highest.
O F F I C I A L J O U R NA L O F T H E NAT I O NA L G E O G R A P H I C S O C I E T Y
FROM THE EDITOR
Wildlife Crime
Tracking Illegal Traders
It was one of those audacious ideas that had a touch of the crazy: Hunt the
elephant hunters.
First build a fake tusk, one that looked so good it could fool the experts—
in this case, poachers. Then hide a GPS device inside it. Finally track that
signal by satellite, and map the trail of the bad guys. Best-case results:
Expose the workings of the illegal ivory trade, which from 2009 to 2012
led to the slaughter of 100,000 African elephants. This barbarous racket also
exacts a devastating human toll, from looted
villages and kidnapped children to raped
women and dead park rangers.
That’s what inspired the National Geo-
graphic investigation reported in this issue,
the first in a series we’ll feature in the
magazine and at
nationalgeographic.com.
The stories come from our new Special
Investigations Unit, which is the brainchild
of Bryan Christy, National Geographic’s
2014 Explorer of the Year and a passionate
warrior against wildlife crime.
“To protect wildlife and stop criminals,
people first have to know the stories,”
Christy says. “I don’t want anyone to be
able to say, ‘There’s nothing I could have
done,’ or ‘I didn’t know.’ ”
Start by knowing this: The thriving, global
illegal wildlife trade—including sales of endangered species and products
made from them—is worth billions of dollars annually. The trade not only
kills elephants, turtles, crocodiles, and other animals. It also brings big
bucks to smugglers, crime syndicates, and terrorists. In a 2013 executive or-
der aimed at combating wildlife crime, President Barack Obama called the
surge in poaching and trafficking an “international crisis” that is “fueling
instability and undermining security.”
On this topic, Christy’s zeal—and that of photographer Brent Stirton,
whose moving work is highlighted here—is shared across the National
Geographic Society. Protecting wildlife is a top priority for this organization.
I like how Christy puts it: “I hate an unfair fight,” he says. “And the battle
to protect endangered species from commercial exploitation is the unfairest
fight I know.”
Trade in ivory helps bankroll
the Lord’s Resistance Army,
infamous for killings and abduc-
tions in east and central Africa.
Former LRA child conscript
Michael Oryem says he helped
poach and hide ivory: Once
he escaped, he led U.S. and
Ugandan forces to a cache.
Susan Goldberg,
Editor in Chief
Warlords of Ivory,
the premiere episode of National Geographic’s EXPLORER series, will air on August 30 at 8 p.m. on the
National Geographic Channel. The film will feature the work of the Special Investigations Unit, which is made possible by
contributions from individuals and institutions. Find out how you can support this mission at
donate.ngs.org/HelpSIU.
PHOTO: BRENT STIRTON

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