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Rising demand among China's newly wealthy middle class has seen the price of ivory triple in five years. Seizures of smuggled African tusks have doubled in less than a year, to more than 23 tons in 2011, signaling the death of perhaps 4,500 elephants. There are only an estimated 400,000 left in Africa. The crisis, the like of which has not been seen since the 1980s, has conservationists thinking again about how to stop the slaughter. And they have come up with some clever new approaches, based on the simple mathematics of economics: Remove the demand for ivory, and you cut the supply. The supply still comes from Africa – from Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The biggest demand, now, by far, is in China. That is why Yao, China's best-known sportsman, who carried his country's flag into the Bird's Nest stadium at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, is in Kenya, filming a documentary about poaching. The Christian Science Monitor

Yao Ming, China 

"To win this battle against poaching, we need multiple approaches," Yao told the Monitor during his visit to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, which runs the elephant orphanage. "What I am trying to do is to raise people's awareness, to show them the reality of the ivory business. When the killing of elephants happens 10,000 miles away from you, it's easy to hide yourself from that truth. If we show people, they will stop buying ivory. Then elephants will stop dying." Time is short, but with the involvement of global figures like Yao, it may not be too late, says Elodie Sampere, head of conservation marketing at Ol Pejeta, a wildlife conservancy in central Kenya. "I don't think any other celebrity has the kind of pull that he has, both East and West, and the awareness he'll raise I think cannot be beaten," she says. The Christian Science Monitor

Yao Ming, China 

Like owning ivory, ordering shark fin soup was becoming a way for members of China's new middle class to show their wealth and their increasing access to the trappings of elite society. Not anymore. In July, facing increasing public pressure, China's government said it would no longer serve the delicacy at any state banquet. "Now it's something almost shameful for young middle-class people to eat," Yao says. "And I think that shark fin is harder to ban than ivory because there is a huge business chain involved whose living relied on shark fin, from fishing to shipping to sales, and many people could buy it. That's not the same with ivory." The Christian Science Monitor

Yao Ming, China 

Hakeem Olajuwon on Yao Ming, Houston and the Lakers. HoopsHype

Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, Yao Ming, Hakeem Olajuwon 

The Rockets actually had a center in Yao Ming who at one point looked capable of taking the Rockets to the heights they reached with Olajuwon. Unfortunately, right as Yao was establishing himself as the game’s best big man he suffered a string of injuries that eventually led to his premature retirement in 2011. “That was tough especially knowing Yao and how bad he really wanted to play,” Olajuwon said. “I could see the disappointment in his will. It was like a joke. I thought maybe ‘ok that’s not true I’m not reading that right’. To really realize that was like ‘wow, that’s it’. I felt for Yao. He responded positively. He took it very well, moved on. It was tough for the Houston Rockets, especially the owner with all the investments in China and Asia and how that put the popularity of Rockets in Asia. Just to see it for so short, then that was it. Just for the NBA as a whole, I think it was a huge loss for the league and especially the Rockets.” HoopsWorld

Houston Rockets, Yao Ming, Hakeem Olajuwon 

Yao Ming: The baby elephants at Daphne Sheldrick’s Elephant Orphanage, on the edge of Nairobi National Park, have been orphaned by poaching and other causes. They are taken in, cared for, and ultimately reintroduced into the wild. While the tragic circumstances of their arrival is depressing, the atmosphere and relationship the elephants have with their keepers is very moving. For the new arrivals, they are so traumatized by losing their family that a keeper must sleep in their stall to keep them company. They are fed from bottles from behind a blanket to replicate the shade their mother’s belly would provide. Yao Ming Blog

Yao Ming 

The NBA will put its focus on earthquake stricken areas in Sichuan province in the lead up to this fall's China Games. Former Houston Rockets star Yao Ming and Los Angeles Clippers forward Caron Butler will spearhead campus activities and clinics the weekend before the sixth edition of the league's tour of China. At the first leg on Friday, two-time All-Star Butler will visit Mount Qingcheng High School in Dujiangyan, a city destroyed in the devastating Wenchuan earthquake on May 12, 2008. He is scheduled to instruct students at a mini camp. China Daily

Los Angeles Clippers, Yao Ming, Caron Butler, China 

Retired NBA basketball player Yao Ming is visiting Kenya to film a crucial documentary aimed at highlighting the dwindling populations of rhinos and elephants in the country, occasioned by poaching. Yao’s first ever visit to Kenya is a meaningful one, as it will enlist his support in taking the anti-poaching message to his Chinese homeland, where Ivory is a prized commodity. According to a statement from the Ol Pejeta conservancy, which houses four of the world’s remaining seven northern white rhino, the documentary will be titled “The End of the Wild”. Capital FM

Yao Ming 

Yao Ming: "Our boys have done their best in the Games. It cannot be shown in the scores. In the game against Australia, Wang Zhizhi only had one point, but he grabbed 12 rebounds. I think there are certain gaps between our team and the Americans and Europeans. We have insisted on the mental part of the game, but it has to be done on the basis of actual stengths of our team." Xinhua

Yao Ming, China, Olympics 

Yao on the development of basketball in China: "We have 1.3 billion people in this country, but why do we fail to have top-level players in the world? The main reason is that we separate the basketball development from the educational system." Xinhua

Yao Ming, China, Olympics 

Yao on Internet comments about the men's basketball team: "We have to respect ourselves if we want to have the respect from the world. How can we encourage our team when we don't respect it? How can our team win games if they lose confidence from our fans? We need everybody's support and help." Xinhua

Yao Ming, China, Olympics 

Yao told the state news agency Xinhua late on Saturday he supported the decision of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) to disqualify the players but added that he understood the feelings on the issue of his fellow Chinese. "(The) same kind of things happen in basketball. It's a simple question. Is the match-fixing scandal right? Does a gold medal (mean) more than anything else?", Yao said. "People have different attitudes to the Olympics and I must say some sports need to polish the rules. I feel really sorry for the punished players. They are the victims." Eurosport

Yao Ming, Olympics 

Yao Ming doesn’t give many interviews anymore, but he stopped long enough yesterday as he entered the Olympic Park’s basketball arena to give a thumbs up to Jeremy Lin leaving the Knicks and joining his former club, the Rockets. The 7-foot-6 Yao is doing Olympic commentary for Chinese TV and worked Spain’s 97-81 victory over China. When asked what he thought of Lin joining the Rockets, Yao told The Post, “It will be good for both of them, Jeremy and Houston.’’ New York Post

Houston Rockets, Yao Ming, Jeremy Lin, China, Olympics 

“I’m so glad the Knicks didn’t match the contract,” Yao said. “Houston is a good place for Jeremy to come to. It’s a good fit because both sides can provide the best opportunity for each other.” New York Times

Houston Rockets, New York Knicks, Yao Ming, Jeremy Lin 

“In Houston, we have a very good community and great fans,” Yao said. “With less media coverage, I think it made me focus more on basketball. I think that’s one reason I played so well.” New York Times

Houston Rockets, Yao Ming, Jeremy Lin 

According to a source, Morey upped the offer because he heard the Knicks easily would match the old offer and had lost all his point guards. Morey is good friends with former Rockets center Yao Ming, Lin’s mentor. New York Post

Houston Rockets, New York Knicks, Free Agency, Yao Ming, Daryl Morey, Jeremy Lin 

Yao Ming, the former Houston Rockets center who has reportedly amassed a $150 million-plus fortune in salary and endorsement deals, is reinventing himself in China as a venture capitalist, philanthropist, vintner, and student. But thus far, his second act is proving more challenging -- and far less lucrative -- than his sports career. He's pumped his own money into various businesses, including nearly $6 million into Top100.cn, an ad-supported digital-music partnership between Beijing-based Orca Digital and Google (GOOG, Fortune 500). The site for Chinese consumers has struggled to compete with pirated online music services, and in 2010 traffic fell dramatically when Google rerouted China traffic to its Hong Kong site over censorship concerns. Still, Orca CEO Gary Chen says that Yao has been supportive: He stopped by Top100.cn's offices last summer, met with management about the company's strategy, and even offered to take individual photos with its 35 employees. CNN.com

Yao Ming, China 

Jared Zwerling: Melo will be joining Michael Jordan, Derek Jeter, Eli Manning, David Wright, Evander Holyfield, Yao Ming & Serena Williams with wax figures. Twitter

Yao Ming, Carmelo Anthony, Michael Jordan 

Stern: I think the point was that the world of basketball invited the NBA to join it, and we said yes. And they have profited greatly from it, as have we—as has the overall sport of basketball. Now we see Dirk Nowitzki and Ricky Rubio and Tony Parker and Yao Ming and Manu Ginobili. And Luis Scola and Serge Ibaka and Luol Deng. GQ.com

Yao Ming, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Luol Deng, Dirk Nowitzki, Ricky Rubio, Luis Scola, USA Basketball, David Stern, Serge Ibaka 

Carl Landry: "There's the possibility that I could sign a contract with the Shanghai Sharks. I would sign if Yao Ming pays me a lot of money [laughs]." NetEase

Yao Ming, China, Carl Landry