Criteria met:  Sharp increase

Principal trade term to the EU:  carvings

Percentage of global trade to the EU:  16%

Principal source:  pre-Convention

Top EU importer:  United Kingdom

Top Trading Partner:  United States

CITES Appendix:  I

IUCN Status:  Endangered

E. maximus met the ‘sharp increase’ criterion based on the import of four live, wild-sourced animals by Romania for ‘circuses or travelling exhibitions’ (Purpose ‘Q’) in 2010; imports of live, wild-sourced animals had not been reported since 2003. Other wild-sourced imports reported in 2010 consisted of five carvings traded as personal possessions and four scientific specimens. The scientific specimens originated in Malaysia, while the remaining wild-sourced trade was from an unknown country of origin. EU imports of E. maximus in 2010 principally consisted of pre-Convention carvings (totalling 327 carvings).