Elephant calves playing at the Amboseli game reserve, 250km south of Nairobi. According to the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), it was ‘’annus horriblis’’ (Latin for ‘year of horrors’) for the world’s largest land mammal with statistics standing at 34 tonnes of poached ivory having been seized, marking the biggest ever total of confiscated ivory in a single year, outstripping by almost 40 percent last year’s record of 24.3 tonnes.  Most illegal ivory is destined for Asia, particularly in China, where it has soared in value as an investment vehicle and coveted as ‘white gold’.