Wildlife forensic science
Wildlife forensic science is a specialized field that focuses on analyzing animal tissues and other evidence to investigate wildlife crimes, such as poaching and trafficking of protected species. This discipline has gained significance particularly since the late twentieth century, as increased awareness of wildlife protection laws, like the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), has highlighted the need for scientific evidence to link criminals to their offenses. The establishment of dedicated facilities, such as the National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory in the United States, has enabled forensic experts to employ advanced techniques, including DNA analysis and morphological examinations, to identify animal victims and ascertain the legality of their capture.
Forensic investigations in this field can involve a variety of biological samples, ranging from whole carcasses to bloodstains, and require a multidisciplinary approach that includes knowledge of pathology, toxicology, and criminalistics. Techniques developed within wildlife forensics allow scientists to connect poached animals to their habitats, determine the methods of their deaths, and even assess whether the animals were born in the wild or bred in captivity. The field is continually evolving, with new advancements aiding law enforcement in combating wildlife crime effectively. Recent initiatives, such as the establishment of new wildlife forensics laboratories in other countries, demonstrate a growing global commitment to addressing these critical issues.
Subject Terms
Wildlife forensic science
DEFINITION: Analysis of animal tissues in addition to such traditional forensic evidence as fingerprints associated with wildlife poaching and smuggling.
SIGNIFICANCE: Crimes committed against wildlife might remain unsolved without forensic evidence to prove connections among animal victims, human hunters, and scenes where animals have been slain or captured. Scientific proof from bloodstains, antlers, and animal by-products enables law-enforcement personnel to identify and seek legal prosecution of suspects in crimes involving animals.
Forensic examination of wildlife-related became crucial during the late twentieth century because of increased governmental awareness worldwide of the poaching and smuggling of endangered and protected species. As demand for exotic pets and animal goods led wildlife traders to expand their trafficking activities and populations of some species dwindled, the 1973 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) established uniform criteria for global enforcement of laws protecting vulnerable species. The United States enforced the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and forbade importation of Asian elephant ivory beginning in 1976 and African elephant ivory starting in 1989. Scholarly articles featuring wildlife forensics appeared in journals such as Forensic Science International and in conference proceedings.
Establishing Resources
Before the National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory was established in 1989, approximately 90 percent of wildlife poachers in the United States were not punished because evidence of their crimes was unavailable unless game wardens had witnessed their actions. Law-enforcement personnel needed scientific evidence that they could present in court if they were going to be able to prosecute crimes committed against wildlife. Most forensics laboratories did not pursue investigations related to wildlife crimes.
In 1979, the US Fish and Wildlife Service hired Ken Goddard to serve as the agency’s chief forensic investigator. Goddard, a biochemist who had worked in law enforcement crime laboratories, applied his experience and expertise to the apprehension of poachers. He requested that the US government establish a wildlife forensics laboratory so that he could perform his work more effectively. The result was the National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory in Ashland, Oregon, which became the sole laboratory investigating wildlife crimes both in the United States and globally.
Serving as director of the laboratory, Goddard recruited a staff of scientists who specialized in morphology, pathology, criminalistics, and toxicology. Differentiating between police forensic work, which focuses on one species, and wildlife forensic investigations, which may involve thousands of species, the National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory assembled sophisticated technology and a diverse collection of specimens, including skeletons, feathers, and blood, to aid in its work of identifying wildlife victims, particularly when evidence consists of only fragments or bloodstains. The laboratory also established a (deoxyribonucleic acid) and protein database to aid in species identification.
The National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory’s collaborative approach helped establish an innovative scientific field, incorporating existing technologies and biological and chemical procedures and inventing methods to conduct original investigations. Forensic ornithologists, veterinarians, and wildlife specialists enhanced the laboratory’s capabilities.
Scientific Investigations
For the forensic scientists at the wildlife laboratory, a case begins when a sample arrives and is cataloged. Wildlife forensic evidence takes varied forms, from entire carcasses to pieces of bone; it may include dried fluids, pelts, raw meat, and products made from animal materials. Morphologists evaluate specimens to identify their species; this work sometimes requires comparisons with samples from known species in the laboratory’s collection. The scientists frequently use scanning electron microscopes to scrutinize samples for structures to determine species. Species identification clarifies whether or not the animal is legally protected; crocodiles, for example, are a protected species, whereas alligators are not.
Serologists analyze blood samples, using mass spectrometry to weigh hemoglobin protein molecules to identify species. Genetic fingerprinting is useful when bloodstains at scenes or on poachers’ clothing are the sole available evidence. Investigators may use DNA analysis to connect the body parts of an animal recovered in separate locations. Wildlife forensic investigators also compare saw marks, such as on antlers and heads, to match severed wildlife pieces. DNA analysis may also be used to associate meat with a crime scene. Forensic scientists can determine whether poached animals were born in the wild or captively bred, as some hunters claim, if the DNA of the animals’ alleged parents is available for testing. DNA evidence can also enable investigators to identify the weapons used to kill animals.
Pathologists at the wildlife forensics laboratory examine evidence to determine the causes of animals’ deaths. Experts in evaluate bullets found inside animals, tire tracks, and other evidence found at crime scenes to supplement the information acquired from biological and chemical examinations. Such evidence can link together an animal victim, a human suspect, and the place where the crime occurred.
Wildlife forensic scientists have devised techniques for evaluating animal goods. For example, Edgard O. Espinoza and Mary-Jacque Mann developed a simple way for customs agents to appraise the Schreger lines (lines that are visible in ivory cross-sections) in ivory by measuring the lines’ angles to determine if the ivory came from an elephant’s tusk or some other source. Ivory with Schreger line angles of 115 degrees or greater comes from banned sources, whereas ivory with line angles of 90 degrees or less is legal. This method has exposed poachers who had falsely identified their ivory as originating from legal sources and has resulted in a reduction in elephant poaching.
Wildlife forensics investigators have also analyzed bile acids to identify different kinds of animal bladders that have been harvested for folk medicines. It is illegal to kill bears for this purpose, but the harvesting of pig bladders is legal. Researcher Stephen Busack has been able to identify some reptiles by scale shapes and patterns even when tanning and dying processes have obliterated the skins’ original pigments.
The National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory’s successes have encouraged forensic investigators to establish similar facilities in other locations. In 2024, Virginia Tech's College of Natural Resources and Environment was awarded a $2.6 million grant to open a wildlife forensics laboratory in Kasane, Botswana. The laboratory will allow researchers to quickly and efficiently utilize DNA evidence to combat wildlife trafficking.
Bibliography
Fleming, David. "Forensic Science Combats Wildlife Tracking." 6 Feb. 2024, news.vt.edu/articles/2024/02/cnre-wildlife-forensic-center.html. Accessed 19 Aug. 2024.
Jackson, Donna M. The Wildlife Detectives: How Forensic Scientists Fight Crimes against Nature. Photographs by Wendy Shattil and Bob Rozinski. Houghton Mifflin, 2000.
Knight, Jonathan. “Cops and Poachers.” New Scientist, 22 Jan. 2000, pp. 40–43.
Luoma, Jon R. “The Wild World’s Scotland Yard.” Audubon, Nov.–Dec. 2000, pp. 72–80.
"Wildlife Forensics: How Science Is Helping to Combat a Billion-Dollar Organized Crime Industry." United Nations, 4 Mar. 2024, unsdg.un.org/latest/stories/wildlife-forensics-how-science-helping-combat-billion-dollar-organized-crime. Accessed 19 Aug. 2024.