Rhino Horns are Like Fingerprints

Sept. 11, 2003 — Two new "fingerprint" tests, pointing to the region and even the game reserve where an animal was killed, are due to make life harder for poachers who have driven the rhino to the brink of extinction, New Scientist said.

Taiwanese researchers have devised a test that amplifies fragments of a gene, cytochrome b, which is unique to each of the five species of rhino, the British weekly magazine reported in last week's issue.

The gene can be spotted in powdered or carved products, such as traditional medicines, supposed aphrodisiacs and jewelry and ornaments, all of which help to drive demand for rhino horn.

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Meanwhile, a chemical test has emerged for raw rhino horn that reveals both the species as well as the individual game reserve from which the animal came.

The test is possible because rhino horn is made of compacted hair, not bone, and the hair mirrors the profile of elements that make up the animal's diet.

Devised with the help of the Institute of Zoology in London, the test uses a mass spectrometer to measure proportions of carbon-12 to carbon-13 and of nitrogen-14 to nitrogen-15.

This basket of isotopes varies according to diet and shows whether the horn came from black rhinos, which eat herbs and woody plants, or the rarer white rhino, which eats grass.

The sample is also assessed by an optical emission spectrometer, which quantifies commonly found trace elements such as iron and copper. The distinctive chemical "fingerprint" is then matched against a computer database of rhino species and locations.

The database needs to be enlarged in order to provide greater statistical accuracy and make the evidence usable in a court of law.

However, if used together, the tests should be a big help for gamekeepers, police and the judiciary in detecting and punishing poaching, according to the report.

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