With almost one hundred elephants being killed every day by poachers, National Geographic is taking the fight to animal poachers.
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) will investigate and report on wildlife crime, develop new policy solutions and empower communities to take action.
Investigative reporter and National Geographic Fellow, Bryan Christy, will head up the unit. His work on international wildlife trafficking, including the ivory trade, has been cited as one of ten ways National Geographic has changed the world.
Christy says “The illegal ivory trade is clearly organized crime. The surprising thing is that it's taken them so long to call it that.”
Documentaries on National Geographic Channel will also raise global awareness and gather public support to end poaching.
Christy’s documentary Warlords Of Ivory takes an in-depth look at the devastating effects of the global illegal ivory trade using a smuggled tusk with a hidden GPS tracker to follow a bloody trail leading to the doorsteps of Africa’s most notorious militias.