The white gold of the tundra: trading mammoth ivory | SLICE | FULL DOCUMENTARY

Ever since the international ban on elephant hunting, Russia has cornered the market in ivory. But this ivory comes from mammoths; whose tusks, skeletons and sometimes even their preserved carcasses are constantly being discovered in the frozen earth of Siberia.
Every summer, Russian businessmen and palaeontologists set out on expeditions to these remote areas of the Arctic. Their goal is to find the frozen remains of mammoths in the Siberian permafrost.
Ivory, or “ the white gold of the tundra ” sells for more than fifty dollars a kilogram and represents a market estimated at 2.5 million dollars and whose central point is Hong Kong. To supply this market, men obsessed by ivory travel long, arduous distances through the tundra year in and year out in search of a treasure imprisoned in the eternal ice.
Documentary: Mammoth Hunters
Directed by: Jean Afanassieff
Production: ZED
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#documentary #slice #fulldocumentary #freedocumentary #mammoth #russia #ivory #trading #explore #paleontology #animals

[@markokada7311]

We've all learned about the existence of an iconic fauna, the Mammoth, in the primary school. This doc. objectively exhibits us the exact sites & the method of how they were procured from the permafrosts at such foreboding, inhospitable, & inaccessible landscapes in the northern Siberia near the Arctics. And also how the finished products are traded globally. Not only educational, edifying, but also informative. So glad I stumbled on this doc. thanks all to Slice, British program. It is infinitely of an invaluable value. My heartfelt gratitude,,,,,(08/13/23)

[@LuvBorderCollies]

Oh wow! I saw this show many years ago and thought it was super interesting. I haven't seen again until now. Thanks for uploading it. 👍

[@apologiamixer]

I carved such ivory in Alaska over 30 years ago. It is found by miners and road construction crews and at times along river banks in summer but I have never seen such quantity. Quite amazing.

[@bigskunk801]

I have a walrus skull from Alaska I got it for payment for a debt. The tusks are over 2’ long it has several tags on it and is at least 30 years old. It was shipped out of homer but that’s all I know about it. I don’t display it all the time but sometimes I do I don’t really have the space to display it

[@apologiamixer]

@@bigskunk801 I used to do a lot of scrimshaw on tusks when I lived up there.

[@HighlanderNorth1]

🏹 It's been documented that live mammoths were once harvested for their tusks. I know, because I read the ancient diary left behind by my great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather. You see, he was a full time worker employed at a hunter/gathering firm, but he also had a part-time job hunting wooly mammoths and mastodons(because employers did _not_ provide health insurance back then). They carved the tusks into trinkets which were then sold at tourist traps positioned along the frozen ice-age land bridge leading from Russia to Alaska...

[@dodge93city]

According to their computers this documentary must be over 25 years old…

[@HighlanderNorth1]

Yeah, mammoths still roamed the Earth when their computers were built.

[@maxcorey8144]

Years ago a friend and I bought a mammoth tusk from The Ivory Exchange in Anchorage, Alaska. We were carvers and scrimshaw artists. We were not Alaska Natives but it was legal.

[@HighlanderNorth1]

Years ago I bought a mastodon tusk from the "Ebony & Ivory" Exchange, co-owned by Stevie Wonder & Paul McCartney. 😁

[@Ogsonofgroo]

I wonder if maybe there was some sort of thaw that made everything boggy, so many tusks pointed upward, like the got stuck and were gasping for air, yeh I know silly but it is so strange. My stepfather was from near Inuvic and he told about being a kid hunting with his dad and cousins and in a misty fog came across a landscape of tusks protruding from the ground, he said it was very strange and sad. Good documentary, thank you op!

[@joshuasjericho3915]

This is so awesome! Using absolutely everything ❤️ is the same practice of #NativeAmericans and this is an awesome environmental & elephant 🐘 🥰 friendly way of supplying the ivory! Russia 🇷🇺 🪆 i salute 🫡 you for helping 👏 save African Elephants 🐘 👏! #Russia 🇷🇺 #nature #ancienthistory #ivory #China 🇨🇳 #africa #elephants #conservation !

[@cosmiccharlie8294]

If you have a bit more than $500 you can buy a nice knife with Mammoth tusk or molar handles. I met a fellow who found a Mammoth molar in a creek in Iowa.

[@boathousejoed1126]

I had no idea.Interesting and informative!

[@arneservatius1982]

Turning wasted ivory into works of antique jewelry is fantastic!😎🇨🇦🇺🇸

[@jkoonce4244]

Intriguing and informative excellent job

[@russhayes4882]

Great video !

[@ericswain4177]

Wow ! I have heard theories and speculation that there have been a number of cataclysms in the ancient past that swept the mammoth herds almost instantly freezing them in their tracks which seems plausible given the large number of Mamouth remains in a relatively shallow area of the tundra.

[@foyerfelin]

*freezing

[@ericswain4177]

" z " Spell correction-missed it as did I. Oops Lol !@@foyerfelin

[@simonphoenix3789]

@@ericswain4177 what seems like the same strata can be tens of thousands of years apart. layers usually build very slowly, sometimes on the order of millions of years for a few inches.

[@brendalazoaquino4102]

Excelente documental me encanta

[@Kuasarakyat2]

Great documentary..🎉🎉

[@PAULLONDEN]

Thanks , that was fascinating !

[@MrZx9rdoug]

Very good and refreshingly unbiased.Thank you.

[@HighlanderNorth1]

Too unbiased if you ask me! I personally blame the extinction on ice-age Republicans, who refused to acknowledge that the lack of fossil fuel usage and the non-existence of industry, was causing a deficiency of atmospheric CO2. This of course led to global cooling, which caused the ice age. 😁

[@eso4lifemain]

These guys are bad ass! All of em.

[@cactus2]

here from a geopold playlist

[@martabranistareanu4281]

🙏👏👍very interesting!

[@twinflowerfioretta]

I can not believe, one man (or country) can make a business from Mammoths left overs ivory etc. - it is a world heritage !! Or not...at least they do really stunning precious Art of the tusks, my compliments !Thy ! SLICE 💝fantastic docu 👍

[@twinflowerfioretta]

...Wow, so amazing to see the tusks of a Mammoth 👁‍🗨👁‍🗨

[@ericleal8120]

Would you rather humans start slaughtering elephant's & get them back on track for extinction with everything else we so called surprior beings are killing in this poor, disrespected, abused, & unappreciated WORLD!!! THINK ABOUT IT!!! 🤔🤫🤯 ❤ LIFE -liveon/no evil .....

[@sghow]

Why is this in a geopold playlist

[@techfixr2012]

It's cool that they can find this before it wastes away.

[@youthadda408]

Human is The Destroyer Of Earth 🌍

[@buildingbuildercip8292]

Is it legal to buy those chess sets in the US? I’d like to see how to go about buying one.

[@tedbyrne88]

As a little tie in to this a documentary regarding to environmental impact of cutting the trees down, forcing soil erosion and leaving massive holes in the earth like the batagay crater would be amazing. Excuse my spelling batagay, baatagay... Also at around 16:33 I'm pretty sure I'm looking at Brock Lesnar if he never made it rich

[@siamt9848]

when was this documentary filmed.?

[@bradjohnson482]

Going by that modern desktop ... 1998?

[@siamt9848]

@@bradjohnson482 tq

[@JJ-Toreddie]

Slice : what was the date when this was released?

[@billharpster7968]

One would expect this ivory would cost more.

[@germanbaez9223]

Very Humboldt people chasing the passions of a child

[@randytaylor1814]

Every day is a good day

[@Mrbleusky]

who else is here from the geopold playlist

[@ftargr]

what year was this made?

[@tookmyhandle2]

I'm guessing 2017. It is Russia.

[@mattharvey8712]

Bravo......ask the chess guy what he likes......cheers

[@manolodlospavos]

how is cloning projects going on?¿

[@irisdavidson6229]

Elephant which centre

[@Sheepdog1314]

they waste this precious stuff on carving a lot of crap

[@Durga695]

Amazing documentary, I love Slice's range and interest. How do they find the Tusks, by drone? Are the Mammoth killed to obtain the ivory or did they die in the freezing conditions....oh do tell please....

[@discojelly]

No ma'am ALL Mammoths died naturally and went extict, 5,000 years ago (officially) No mammoths were killed in any of the collecting of tusks.

[@epifaniomolina4543]

I'm sure most of them died thousands of years ago by natural causes ,or climate change and predation many thousands of years ago.

[@theshrivelstein7118]

Mammoth are extinct..potato

[@claypeacock5912]

Hahahaha!!!!😂😂😂😂😂

[@ssrae-2229]

Mammoths are thousands years old - dude

[@gayeinggs5179]

How do you tell the differences between mammoth. And elephant Ivory since elephant is banned how do you know what you have got

[@nielskrog9623]

How do I get the contact to this Seller.....?? Iam Very Interested in Mammoth tusk's....!! I live in Ghana, married to Ghanian wife with one child. I come from Denmark!! Danish Viking living in Ghana 💪🤠

[@harshgill3114]

Hard work pays ….

[@BabarKhan-vf1wt]

A super documentary again slice 🐅🇵🇰🇬🇧🌴✨🤗🌴🏝️🤔💞🤗✨🌴🌟🇵🇰🤲🌟😜🌴🌟

[@johncalliope197]

Becoming very popular on the US for handgun grips

[@rogerhester4347]

They froze fast because a ice comet flew to close to the earth, weaking the Hurd and hunted the rest of the way out.

[@HighlanderNorth1]

No dude, it was caused by global cooling, which was a result of not enough CO2 in the atmosphere, caused by a lack of industry and not enough fossil fuel powered automobiles cruising around! 😊

[@doncallies8803]

awesome ... wish i was there

[@richardsanchez5444]

Where can I get one of those tusks. I'll pay a grand for a tusk.

[@tookmyhandle2]

Lol. You're looking at more like ten grand for one that's half decent

[@TheDewayne69er]

Imagine how something so big grows like tht from just damn grass lol

[@germanbaez9223]

U could say that a mammoth is related to the elefant

[@redlabel3977]

We are but a grain in the sands of time 👣

[@waitaminute7257]

What kind of natural event caused all these animals to die and be buried and preserved under all that ice at the same time?

[@p__jay]

how is the trade regulated? if i buy ivory in China, I'm sure it will be taken away from me at the airport customs...

[@bg24955]

Window 95 is the best!

[@Tyler.i.81]

show me the merchandise.

[@toejamr1]

38:01 You’d think if powdered ivory was actually an aphrodisiac the folks carving these things 24/7 would be out of their minds horny.. yet, that’s not what we see. So dumb.

[@GMT439]

Proof of all CLAIMS Required.

[@GimbalosMorkinar]

Very sad seeing extinct animal remains being destroyed.

[@extremechimpout]

Why?

[@Sheepdog1314]

@@extremechimpout you seen some of the crap they make out of this?

[@extremechimpout]

@@Sheepdog1314 Yeah I saw. It's lame but I don't see the problem these animals died thousands of years ago

[@GimbalosMorkinar]

@@extremechimpout Destroying things which can't be recreated is very sad. Should be preserved for future generations.

[@extremechimpout]

@@GimbalosMorkinar True I agree

[@chrisk7626]

The mammoth died in a massive pole shift they found Mammoth with food in their mouth and in their stomach

[@fetus2280]

How Old is this video ? late 90s early 2000's ? last time i saw a website looking like the one at 2:40 was in 1998 . i wish you lot would give us more information on these OLD Recordings . Things do change you know . Please Do Better .

[@ABACUStoPC]

this is a documentary made by National Geographic in the early 2010s if I remember correctly

[@lucamatteobarbieri2493]

Recentism is a bias.

[@lucamatteobarbieri2493]

Recentism is a bias.

[@markokada7311]

I've noticed Slavic European migrants seem to have got along w/ native Russians or Mongoloid people, i.e., intermingling w/ them, whereas those European immigrants to America, primarily Western Europeans, had reduced those American indigenous people or American Indians, the relative of Russian mongoloid people, from well over 300k in the 17th century to mere 9k at the beginning of 20th century by means of those firearms. Since then, there has been existing a long term-feud btw them even now! Enjoyed, admired, & appreciate it to the core at the opulent comfort of my cosy residence. Infinitely grateful & gratified it to the full,,,,(08/31/23)

[@baneverything5580]

See Thomas Jefferson`s description of them. It was an understatement. They were monsters!

[@markokada7311]

Is that so? Doumo Arigato,,,,What did he state about them?,,,,,Sayonara,,,,,From Tokyo, & Happy New Year! You have the best day & stay safe & healthy in the US,,,,(01/04/24)@@baneverything5580

[@user-sp8te3bb8e]

Ilvoe you slice iom Mojeeb Bakhteyar from Afghanistan ❤️❤️🇦🇫🇦🇫🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺🇦🇫🇦🇫❤❤

[@oldhick9047]

Careful, they could wind up on the endangered species list

[@senodputra]

Indonesian subtitle plies 😢❤. ilike video

[@colinreeve2803]

There are a lot of mammals tusks in the UK in the north sea in west Runton Norfolk and the chalk reefs they discovered about 15 years ago or more I can't remember the exact year the fishing men pull tusks up in their fishing nets and bones and fossils and rhino's mammoths hyena and other animals that once lived there.

[@charliechan6827]

Do these people pay taxes on their finds?

[@Nick-rn7uh]

And not one mention of the mosquitos that are for real no shit chasing you for your life. Iv been there and its unreal.

[@giuseppers1956]

This proves The animal can be extinct and still be an aphrodisiac in Hong Kong!

[@cliffowens3629]

ALL the tusks are collector items.

[@johnnychannel7824]

China is a big customer that all suppliers need.

[@jgalt155]

Bright idea, lets unleash long buried pathogens.

[@jasonnester9514]

Putting in sand to protect yeesh the open air isn’t gonna hurt it

[@toejamr1]

27:04 I’ve heard they stink like death. Likely why they left the doors open and everyone hopped on top of vehicle. 😂

[@NickVenture1]

These interesting people still using these soviet era premises... such as this ugly garage. The office also looks very poor. I hope they will earn a lot of money and finally leave with all their stocks and treasures to a beautiful place with private security and a better office space.

[@holgere.]

What a sad story to have the remains of these majestic extinct animals scavenged, destroyed and sold of for trinkets by this nation of corrupt drunkards! There is nothing proud about this country's 'achievments' in exploring the north. Lets hope there are a few remains of mammoths left outside 🇷🇺 to be preserved... And it might be time to reconsider some of the restrictions on elephant ivory.

[@Thibs1082]

What do you suggest? Leave them in the permafrost to eventually rot? The US continually pillages the less fortunate countries for resources. Are you ignorant to the procurement and manufacturing processes for the device you're using to make this comment?

[@holgere.]

@@Thibs1082 Since they did not rot for several ten thousand years, I'm quite certain they can remain there until someone more responsible and sensitive comes along, who won't sell them to pay for the next drink. These remains deserve to be studied and researched. They are inheritance of all humankind!

[@baneverything5580]

Ok Karen.

[@baneverything5580]

Have you heard of the Boneyard in Alaska? A miner is recovering the bones. The lazy college rotted "scientists" and "researchers" won`t go near it and even DENY that the finds there are rewriting the lies told by the lazy greedy liars calling themselves "educated" and "experts." They also deny the carvings on the ancient bones and the ones he has found that have been sawed in pieces by ancient humans that "couldn`t exist" because they say so. So the boneyard might as well be invisible. So an old man, his wife, daughters, and hired help are collecting the massive amount of remains the best way they can. There`s tons of ancient trees, seeds, and no telling what else going uninvestigated or studied because of woke college racists.

[@LilMOMMAson]

@16:01 he's missing a whole finger nail

[@Toopeeneekeenho]

32:23 legend has this was the last time she was seen 😢

[@irisdavidson6229]

Everyday mammals we ate them today an ???? We ate them

[@ArmyDagestan]

URAAAA!!!FOR MOTHER RUSSIA!

[@JamesJones-cx5pk]

Humans killed em, we might as well sell em.🤣

[@Kevjoseful]

Can one tell the difference between Mammoth and Elephant ivory???

[@juriaan13]

Yes the grain is different and mammoth ivory I believe is denser

[@ABACUStoPC]

they can be very hard to tell apart. Some internet source will tell you their grain pattern is different from one another, that's not always true, it really depends on the angle where the ivory is cut. Most of the times the bark layer is how you can tell the difference, mammoth tusk's bark layer are almost always colored due to minerals absorbed from the permafrost soil over tens of thousands of years, elephant tusks are not. Also mammoth ivory often has a slight unpleasant smell, elephants ivory doesn't

[@user-vi4ii1ni7w]

Очень старое видео

[@irisdavidson6229]

Whàt ever they could have lived

[@jasonnester9514]

Surprised this is legal seems like all over the world everything is illegal

[@anmolmusic7123]

Just replace mammoth by elephant and see future of mankind

[@dogwedl1167]

[@stephanelafargue4709]

In russia gaz petrol wheat wood ivory etc etc it is stupid to give sanctions

[@leemartin366]

I don’t mean to offend, but I don’t think that you understand that you are really trying to put her out there like a brand. And it’s really not polite for anybody her or us but as long as you’re making money, it’s OK right

[@oxanasparks3904]

2000.. People why you show so old film 😅

[@art-is-lazy4509]

Dam, stealing his mother crocs really worked for that dude hey, wonder what else of her kit he'd have to wear to catch a metery, nah I'm not. Heard you Aussies had one of those dam plebiscite things so y'all can be who you be.

[@redpanda1126]

Nikolai and Dimitri seriously...?

[@irisdavidson6229]

You cannot live with out death

[@hilohattie3681]

Chinese and Russian traders arguing about money!!😅 Very funny.

[@c.f.3503]

First

[@KHLalekseyanov]

Its all 100% profit!! Nothing went back to the MoTY, only the officials in moskva who made this possible. The only active site that's officially a dig sit is in Batagaika and its head by NEFU & Mammoth Museum of Yakutsk, nothing is sold its treated as a paleontologist dig site not a collect and already sold site. New law has stopped looters 5yrs in PC or 239,687 ₱ (250,000 USD). To date only 1 has been convicted. Sites are monitored.

[@irisdavidson6229]

99 you ate them

[@mustamuri]

✨🦣✨ 👶👏❤

[@Tyler.i.81]

I want to see Putin head made out of ivory

[@davenoel4592]

They were destroyed by the flood.

[@enkhzayazundui1063]

He is criminal. This is crime.

[@kevintaylor5079]

The offices and equipment looks decrepit . Tha t helicopter is a death trap

[@sarahhudleston832]

Better than killing live elephants