Auction of 3.5 tonnes of hippo teeth Jan 29

Arusha. Tanzania is expected to auction 12,467 pieces of hippopotamus teeth weighing 3.58 tonnes on January 29, an official said on Tuesday.

Tanzania Wildlife Authority (Tawa) acting director general James Wakibara said in a statement.

According to statistics from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites), since the trade began in 1975, over 770,000 kilograms of hippo teeth have been traded internationally. And it is estimated that over 75 per cent came from two East African countries: Tanzania and Uganda.

Mr Wakibara said that the auction is to be held in Dar es Salaam on January 29, and the exercise will be supervised by the Ministry of Finance and Planning.

“The auction is restricted to accredited traders with the first-class licence granted in 2017,” the Tawa official said.

Mr Wakibara informed that interested buyers will be entitled to initial payment of at least 25 per cent of the total cost on the same day and settle the remaining balance within 14 days.

Tanzania conducted a countrywide census on hippopotamus in 2001 and the result showed there were 20,079 of them. However, issuance of permits for export of hippo teeth was suspended since 2004 with exception of those obtained through sports hunting.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature, which monitors the conservation status of species, classifies hippos as vulnerable because threats of illegal, unregulated trade in their teeth, demand for their meat, and habitat loss are likely to continue.