What is a Poacher?
A person who illegally kills or hunts wild animals is known as a poacher. Hunting animals may be illegal for numerous reasons — in some cases, the hunter does not have a permit to hunt the particular animal, or hunting of an animal is not allowed at the specific time of year. In many cases, however, a poacher will hunt and kill an animal that is protected as an endangered species. A poacher may target any type of animal, but when endangered species are involved, the most commonly hunted animal is the elephant. A poacher will kill the elephant and cut off its face, so that he can remove the tusks from its body. Because the tusks are made from ivory, they are very valuable, and can be sold on the black market for thousands of dollars. Generally, the elephant’s body is simply left to rot. In other cases, a poacher will target endangered wild cats, such as leopards, tigers, and ocelots, because their furs are considered very valuable. Often, eight or more of a species must be killed and sk
