Tigers, rhinos, elephants and leopards. What do all these animals have in common? They’re all poached and trafficked around the world. But which species is the most trafficked? In fact, none of these animals are the worlds most trafficked animal. None of them are even closely related. Pangolins are the worlds most trafficked animal. Used in traditional Asian medicines and hunted for their meat, the pangolin or ‘scaly anteater’ is the animal that is most frequently and most severely trafficked.
There are 8 pangolin species overall, 4 African and 4 Asian. All of which are endangered, decreasing in numbers and are on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. So what makes these strange, elusive creatures so valuable? Their scales, which make up 20% of their weight, is made of keratin and while this is the same protein our own hair and nails are made of, for pangolins it is worth $600 per kilogram. The scales are dried and used to supposedly cure a variety of illnesses including hysterical crying in children, deafness and women possessed by devils and ogres! Their meat is eaten and is served as a traditional delicacy.
We know next to nothing about these amazing and extraordinary animals. Only 3 people in the world have successfully been able to raise and rehabilitate pangolins in captivity as our lack of knowledge makes it extremely difficult to be able to care for them properly. In writing this article I hope to raise awareness about the threat these animals face and gain support for preventing and stopping further harm to them.
So how can you help? Luckily thanks to modern day technology we are able to help this cause from the comfort of our own homes. By supporting and donating money to charities like WWF, African Wildlife Foundation and many more you can help spread the message about the trafficking of pangolins. A key belief of mine is that the power of speech is a strong one. By telling other people and spreading the word you can help educate others about the unseen animal suffering the most from wildlife trafficking and poaching. Fundraisers, bake sales, sponsored runs and many more are small ways that will make a huge impact. Hopefully, in a few years, we won’t have to explain what a pangolin is as the whole world will be fully aware of who they are and what they are enduring.
To find out more and to support this cause take a look at some of these links!
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