Property

The National Wildlife Property Repository is a 22,000-square-foot warehouse outside of Denver, Colorado, where law enforcement officials around the country send confiscated illegal wildlife items. The repository holds more than 1 million pieces in total and received more than 35,000 items in 2015 alone. Among the seized goods are mounted tigers, kangaroo wallets, crocodile-skin purses and trinkets of carved ivory. The illegal industry that creates these products out of rare and endangered species is one of the biggest contributors to the decline of threatened species. The repository is a little-known but stark reminder of the illicit trade in wildlife that’s changing the face of the planet.