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Handprint on Sea Turtle
Forensic science against illegal wildlife trade, United Kingdom, 2025
Category - Changemakers
Every crime leaves a trace. On the hunt for smugglers with wildlife forensics — the work that aims to disrupt or even dismantle illegally run wildlife trade chains. On the first glance this may appear to be a underwater photograph of a green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas). But can you spot the human handprint? This scene demonstrates a method for securing forensic evidence that can help to catch poachers and animal traffickers. Special fluorescent powder dyes, photographed under ultraviolet light, reveal hand and fingerprints, blood and other bodily fluids, gunpowder residue, and more. Wildlife forensic experts Dr. Alexandra Thomas and Louise Gibson from the ZSL Wildlife Forensic Lab, London, are developing such methods to assist law enforcement. Six of the world’s seven sea turtle species are classified as threatened, endangered, or critically endangered due to human persecution, habitat destruction, or marine pollution.
53 mm f/2.8 Lens - 1/20 sec at f/5.6 ISO 1600