Ivory’s Ghosts: The White Gold of History and the Fate of Elephants January 17, 2009

Ivory’s Ghosts: The White Gold of History and the Fate of Elephants

Author talk and booksigning by John Frederick Walker
Saturday, January 17, 2:00 pm

Long before gold and gemstones, humans were drawn to ivory for its beauty and scarcity. By the 1980s, elephant poaching reached record levels in East Africa, provoking a world-wide outcry that led to an ivory trade ban still in effect today. But the question of what to do with the growing stockpiles of legitimate ivory recovered from elephants that die of natural causes is at the heart of a heated and ongoing international debate. Author John Frederick Walker will share the fascinating story of ivory’s enormous impact on both human history and that of its most important source—the majestic African elephant. Free with museum admission, and located on 26 Oxford Street.

Official Website: http://www.hmnh.harvard.edu