Lighting the Ivory Track: Are Near Infrared and Chemometrics Up to the Job? A Proof of Concept

A rapid tool to discriminate rhino horn and ivory samples from different mammalian species based on the combination of near-infrared reflection (NIR) spectroscopy and chemometrics was evaluated In this study, samples from the Australian Museum mammalogy collection were scanned between 950 to 1650 nm using a handheld spectrophotometer and analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). An overall correct classification rate of 73.5% was obtained for the classification of all samples. This study demonstrates the potential of NIR spectroscopy coupled with chemometrics as a means of a rapid, nondestructive classification technique of horn and ivory samples sourced from a museum. NIR can be used as an alternative or complementary method in the detection of horn and ivory assisting in the combat of illegal trade and aiding the preservation of at-risk species.