ForensicSpot9 modules
Wildlife Forensics
The forensic science of crimes against protected species: species identification by morphology and DNA, the illegal wildlife trade, CITES enforcement, poaching scene investigation, and specialist casework on ivory, rhino horn, pangolin scales, and timber.
- 54hours
- 32topics
- 9modules
Module 16 hrs4 topics
Foundations and the Scope of Wildlife Crime
What wildlife forensic science is, why it is a distinct discipline, the scale and structure of the illegal wildlife trade, and the international legal frameworks that create its mandate.
Start module- Scope and History of Wildlife ForensicsWildlife forensics applies laboratory science to crimes against animals and plants, tracing its roots from fisheries biology to a recognised forensic discipline with dedicated laboratories on three continents.13 min
- Scale and Structure of the Illegal Wildlife TradeThe illegal wildlife trade is a multi-billion-dollar transnational criminal industry, structured along the same supply-chain logic as narcotics, with distinct source, transit, and consumer country roles and strong links to organised crime and conflict financing.11 min
- CITES Appendices and International Legal FrameworksCITES divides protected species into three appendices with different trade controls, and national laws such as the US Lacey Act, the EU Wildlife Trade Regulation, and India's Wildlife Protection Act translate those commitments into enforceable domestic offences.13 min
- National Legislation and Enforcement AgenciesWildlife law enforcement is carried out by a patchwork of national agencies, each with different mandates, resources, and legal powers; understanding that architecture is essential for the forensic scientist whose reports will be used by these bodies.12 min
Module 26 hrs5 topics
Morphological Species Identification
The anatomy-based methods for identifying animal parts and products: hair, feather, scale, bone, horn, ivory, and shell. How reference collections, morphological keys, and microscopy underpin species attribution.
Start module- Hair, Feather, and Surface Covering IdentificationHow forensic scientists use microscopy, UV fluorescence, and reference databases to identify species from hair, feathers, and other surface coverings seized in wildlife crime investigations.13 min
- Scale, Skin, and Leather IdentificationMethods for identifying reptile scales, pangolin scales, crocodilian osteoderms, and processed leather products in wildlife crime casework, from pit pattern microscopy to CITES leather identification guides.11 min
- Bone and Skeletal Element IdentificationGross morphology, histological osteon structure, osteometric discriminant analysis, and reference atlases for identifying wildlife bones in trade seizures, with focus on tiger, bear, and avian skeletal material.10 min
- Ivory, Horn, and Tusk ExaminationForensic identification of elephant, mammoth, narwhal, hippo, and warthog ivory and rhinoceros horn using Schreger line angles, tubule microstructure, and DNA, with focus on the mammoth ivory loophole and the rhino horn trade.12 min
- Morphological Keys and Reference CollectionsThe role of voucher specimens, national museum collections, reference slide libraries, and the USFWS 40,000-specimen forensics collection in anchoring wildlife species identifications and the consequences of the database gap for under-described taxa.14 min
Module 36 hrs3 topics
Molecular and Genomic Species Identification
DNA-based methods for species identification, individual profiling, and geographic provenance determination. Barcoding loci, population genetics, stable isotopes, and the databases that make them work.
Start module- DNA Barcoding, STR Profiling, and Individual IdentificationDNA barcoding reads a short standardised gene region to confirm species identity, while STR profiling ties a seized sample to a specific individual animal, linking poached ivory or tissue directly to a source population or carcass.13 min
- Population Genetics, Geographic Provenance, and Stable IsotopesPopulation-level genetic assignment and stable isotope analysis can pinpoint where a seized wildlife product originated geographically, turning a tusk or horn into a map coordinate that prosecutors can place at a specific poaching hotspot.12 min
- DNA from Degraded and Processed Wildlife ProductsFormalin preservation, heat treatment, and blending into multi-species products all destroy DNA in predictable ways, but short-amplicon strategies, ancient-DNA techniques, and NGS metagenomics can still recover species identifications from material that fails conventional PCR.13 min
Module 46 hrs5 topics
Poaching Scene Investigation
How wildlife crime scenes differ from conventional crime scenes, and the specialist techniques for documenting, recovering, and interpreting evidence at poaching sites.
Start module- Wildlife Crime Scene ManagementManaging a wildlife crime scene demands the same rigour as any homicide investigation but in terrain that is hostile, remote, and often legally cross-jurisdictional. This topic covers scene categories, GPS-anchored documentation, first-responder protocols, and the photographic standards that keep evidence court-ready from the bush to the courtroom.14 min
- Ballistics Evidence in Wildlife PoachingFirearms leave a distinctive record in every shot they fire: rifling marks on bullets, extractor marks on casings, and wound tracks in tissue that reveal calibre and range. In wildlife poaching cases, that record is often the only physical link between a recovered firearm and a specific animal's death.12 min
- Snares, Traps, and Cable EvidenceWire snares are the most common method of wildlife poaching globally, and the wire itself is a rich source of forensic evidence: class characteristics of gauge and material, individual tool marks from cutting and setting, injury patterns on the animal, and trace transfers from the person who made and placed the snare.12 min
- Poison and Pesticide Evidence in Wildlife CasesPoisoning is one of the most destructive poaching methods because a single bait can kill dozens of animals and birds. Identifying the compound, tracing its source, and linking it to a suspect requires a chain of toxicological analysis that runs from field-screening kits through confirmatory LC-MS, with carcass tissue and bait as the primary sample matrices.13 min
- Ageing, Sexing, and Geographic Provenance of SpecimensDetermining the age, sex, and geographic origin of a wildlife specimen provides the critical legal context: was it taken from the wild or captive-bred, from a legal range state or an illegal one, and does the stated age match the physical evidence? Each question uses a different method, from growth rings in bone to isotope ratios in tissue.12 min
Module 56 hrs3 topics
Ivory, Rhino Horn, and Large Mammal Casework
Species- and stock-specific casework for the highest-value illegal trade commodities: elephant ivory, rhinoceros horn, and big-cat products, with the science behind each exhibit type.
Start module- Elephant Ivory ForensicsHow forensic scientists distinguish African, Asian, and mammoth ivory using Schreger angles, radiocarbon dating against the nuclear-bomb curve, and DNA geographic assignment to pin down the origin of seized tusks.13 min
- Rhinoceros Horn ForensicsForensic techniques for identifying rhinoceros horn, including microstructure and SEM analysis, STR profiling against the South African RhODIS database, and the detection of stockpile laundering in the trade.12 min
- Big Cat and Bear Product IdentificationForensic methods for identifying products derived from tigers, lions, snow leopards, and bears, including bone PCR, fur pattern analysis, HPLC fingerprinting of bear bile, and the NFWFL cat-hair reference database.13 min
Module 66 hrs3 topics
Pangolin, Marine Species, and Other Traded Taxa
Casework methods for pangolins, sea turtles, sharks, and high-volume traded reptiles, covering the species-specific forensic challenges each group presents.
Start module- Pangolin Scale ForensicsPangolins are the world's most trafficked mammals, and their keratin scales are the primary commodity seized at borders. Forensic methods spanning scale microstructure, LC-MS protein fingerprinting, and DNA barcoding now allow analysts to identify species, count individuals, and detect stockpile blending.12 min
- Sea Turtle ForensicsAll seven sea turtle species are CITES Appendix I protected, and hawksbill tortoiseshell remains one of the most recognizable wildlife contraband materials. Forensic identification uses scute pattern geometry, nuclear and mitochondrial DNA, and tagging databases to assign species, population, and individual identity to seized material.12 min
- Shark and Ray Product IdentificationThe global shark fin trade and manta ray gill plate market generate billions of dollars annually, and CITES Appendix II listings now require documentation for many traded species. Forensic identification from dried fins and gill plates uses spine and ceratotrichia morphology, DNA barcoding, and vertebral age rings to link products to regulated species.15 min
Module 76 hrs3 topics
Timber and Plant Forensics
The forensic identification of traded timber and other CITES-listed plants, including wood anatomy, DNA, and isotopic tools, applied to the illegal timber trade.
Start module- Wood Anatomy and Timber IdentificationForensic timber identification uses microscopic wood anatomy, including vessel patterns, ray cells, and parenchyma, to match seized lumber and products against CITES-listed species like Dalbergia rosewoods.14 min
- DNA and Isotope Methods for TimberWhen wood anatomy cannot separate closely related species or determine geographic origin, chloroplast microsatellites, stable isotope ratios, and multi-element mass spectrometry provide the species and provenance data that CITES enforcement requires.13 min
- CITES Flora and Plant Product ForensicsForensic identification of CITES-listed plants, from orchids and agarwood to cacti and aloe, draws on DNA barcoding (rbcL, matK), chemical fingerprinting, and metabarcoding to intercept illegal trade at ports and verify product authenticity.16 min
Module 86 hrs3 topics
Specialist Laboratories, Databases, and Quality Systems
The global network of wildlife forensic laboratories, the reference databases they maintain and share, and the accreditation and quality standards that govern admissible evidence.
Start module- Global Wildlife Forensic LaboratoriesA survey of the dedicated laboratories worldwide that test wildlife evidence, from the only fully accredited wildlife forensics facility in the United States to specialist units across Europe, India, and beyond.12 min
- Reference Databases in Wildlife ForensicsA guide to the major reference databases used to identify species, assign geographic origins, and link wildlife trade seizures, covering DNA barcoding libraries, STR databases, trade intelligence systems, and the significant coverage gaps that still exist.13 min
- Accreditation and Quality Systems in Wildlife ForensicsHow ISO 17025 accreditation and the SWFS quality guidelines apply to wildlife forensic laboratories, covering method validation for non-human species, proficiency testing, chain of custody for biological specimens, and the unique challenges that distinguish wildlife labs from human forensics.16 min
Module 96 hrs3 topics
Court, Ethics, and Emerging Directions
How wildlife forensic evidence is presented in court, the statistical interpretation of species and population matches, ethical issues in the discipline, and emerging methods including eDNA and remote sensing.
Start module- Expert Evidence and Statistical Interpretation in CourtHow wildlife forensic scientists present species identification evidence in court, meet admissibility standards, and communicate likelihood ratios and Bayesian statistics to judges and juries.15 min
- Ethics and the Forensic Scientist in Wildlife CasesThe ethical tensions wildlife forensic scientists face when working for conservation-oriented agencies, handling intelligence, operating in high-corruption environments, and deciding what to publish.14 min
- Environmental DNA and Emerging Detection TechnologiesHow environmental DNA metabarcoding, remote sensing, acoustic monitoring, machine-learning image recognition, and patrol management software are expanding the toolkit for detecting wildlife trafficking and poaching.15 min