Hippo trade

Africa’s threatened hippo populations are being ravaged by a growing trade in their teeth, which are becoming increasingly popular as carved items similar to those made of ivory.

Hong Kong imports about 90 percent of the trade, which mainly originates in Tanzania and Uganda.

“If authorities do not more diligently monitor the international trade in threatened species, those species could be exposed to unmanageable exploitation levels, which could lead to extinction,” said Alexandra Andersson from the University of Hong Kong’s School of Biological Sciences.