According to a recent count, the hippo population in eastern Zaire – once one of the largest in the world – has dropped from 23,000 to 11,000 since the 1989 elephant ivory ban; the hippo ivory trade has grown exponentially since then. European and African activists are petitioning advocacy groups, including last week’s annual Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in Florida, for a ban on hippo poaching. But they say they’re a long way from putting an end to the slaughter.
