A pioneering method to identify bovine horn trophy: A combined morphometric and DNA-based approach in wildlife forensics

Abstract

We describe a protocol for identifying wild versus domestic bovid horns using multidisciplinary approaches for implementing applicable wildlife laws. We used DNA and morphometry methods to identify four wild and two domestic bovid species from horn trophies. It helped in testing a horn trophy suspected from a wild buffalo that was seized by authorities and sent to us for species identification. Two measurements, circumference at the base (CAB) and length on the front curve (LOFC), were measured for the seized and different bovids horns. The three-dimensional (3-D) scatter plot, generated by the values of CAB, LOFC and CAB/LOFC, differentiated the different bovid species into distinct clusters and placed the seized horn in the proximity of domestic water buffalos. The Bayesian evolutionary analysis of the partial D-loop gene (521 bp) placed the seized horn in a clade with swamp buffalos, which are considered domestic. Hence, the morphometric and the DNA analyses showed consensus in concluding that the seized horn originated from a domestic buffalo. The current protocol may differentiate between wild water buffalo, wild yak, guar, takin and domestic water buffalos (river and swamp). It may also help address the illegal wildlife trade of different bovid species at national and international levels.