The Lizards in the Luggage (And Bonus Holiday Freebie!)

December 5, 2016


 

Have a junior science lover on your holiday shopping list? Here’s how to give them a special treat:

  • Buy a copy of Fox Talk or Fuzzy Forensics from your favourite bookseller
  • Email a copy of the receipt to shop@foxtalk.ca
  • Include your mailing address and personalization instructions in your message

For every copy purchased, I will mail you a FREE, personalized, autographed book plate!

Want a taste of the awesome that’s inside Fuzzy Forensics? Read on, my friends!


Copyright: Australian Customs and Border Protection Service

Copyright: Australian Customs and Border Protection Service.

Have you ever watched Border Security? I’ve seen the Canadian and Australian editions and there may be more. They’re reality TV shows that take you inside customs and border checkpoints at airports and post offices, and if you can get past the constant recapping, it’s quite fascinating to see what people try to smuggle across borders – accidentally or not so much.

I especially like the episodes with the sniffer dogs. 😀

Only about 10% of contraband is ever detected, which is a huge conservation issue, because in addition to the usual cigarettes, illegal drugs, and weapons, many people smuggle wildlife. Like the man who tried to make it out of Australia with nine shingleback skinks in his suitcase – a species that’s legally protected but sells for $6000 per lizard on the black market.

Some experts estimate that global trade in endangered species is worth more than 20 billion US dollars per year. In terms of its impact on endangered species, wildlife trafficking is second only to habitat destruction. In terms of individual animals? Millions are captured, injured, or killed every year.

Before wildlife smugglers can be prosecuted for their crimes, law enforcement agencies have to identify the animal species involved. That’s not too difficult in cases involving living animals, but wildlife products – meat, shell, leather, horns, bone, wool, eggs – can be a much bigger challenge. Fortunately, most of these products still contain animal DNA. Forensic scientists can compare the DNA in the smuggled item to a database of DNA from known species. If there’s a match to a protected species, charges can be laid.

9780994817716-Perfect.inddSpecies identification is a slightly different process than the DNA fingerprinting you’ll see on TV. DNA fingerprinting uses nuclear DNA – the kind that we get from both our mothers and our fathers. Species identification uses mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which is passed directly from mother to child. It also mutates slowly compared to the markers used for fingerprinting, which means there’s a high degree of similarity between an individual and its ancestors. That’s why all members of a single species tend to share mtDNA sequences, making it perfect for species identification.

The biggest challenge is creating a good database of known species. Without a reference sample from a particular species, it’s impossible to match an unknown to the database. The huge number of species that could be involved in a wildlife crime is one reason wildlife forensics is so much harder than human forensics, and it’s also one reason that basic biological research is so important – without that foundation, accurate forensic analysis is impossible.

Have you ever watched Border Security? Have you seen displays of seized wildlife products at your local airport? Been tempted to buy a wildlife product on vacation that you weren’t sure was legal? Share in the comments!

And if you want to learn more about wildlife forensics, check out my book, Fuzzy Forensics: DNA Fingerprinting Gets Wild, for ages 12+. Includes four cool experiments!

 



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