One is Killed Every Hour. Have You Heard of Them?

“We work to save pangolins.”

“Penguins?”

“No, pangolins.”

“Panga-what?”

It’s a conversation I’ve had more times than I can count. When a friend or family member learns that I work for a wildlife conservation organization, the first question is typically, “Which species do you help?” I list the familiar favorites – lions, tigers, elephants, bears, rhinos – and the person commiserates about the brutal trophy hunting of Cecil the lion or the controversial shooting of Harambe the gorilla. But, the moment I mention “pangolins,” the dialogue halts and I’m met with a familiar puzzled stare; the person has never heard of them.

Until I began this job, neither had I. Despite being the most heavily-trafficked mammal on Earth, pangolins receive a disproportionally low level of attention and media coverage. It’s a bit ironic, then, that today is World Pangolin Day, considering that much of our world is unaware that pangolins even exist.

Photo by Tikki Hywood Trust

How can we grow the critical public support to save pangolins if the public doesn’t know what they are?

It’s time to change that. Pangolins are gravely imperiled, and they deserve to emerge from their niche status to become a regular part of the mainstream conservation discussion. In fact, their survival may depend upon it.

Pangolins have been dubbed “the most trafficked mammal you’ve never heard of.” So, if you hadn’t heard of them before, here are some key facts to know:

• Pangolins are also called scaly anteaters. Though covered in scales, they’re actually mammals.
• There are eight species of pangolins: four in Africa and four in Asia.
• Humans are the pangolin’s top predator.
• Pangolins are killed for their meat, which is a delicacy in parts of China and Vietnam, as well as for their scales, blood, and fetuses, which are used in traditional Chinese medicine.
• Pangolins are extremely gentle. When threatened, a pangolin protects against predators (like lions) by wrapping the tail around the body and rolling into a ball. But, while intended for self-defense, this ball position makes it easier for humans to simply pick the animal up.
• Over the past decade, more than one million pangolins were reported to have been illegally caught in the wild. At least one pangolin is killed every hour in Asia.
• If these trends continue, some or all pangolin species could go extinct – even within the next few years.

The more people who learn about the threats facing pangolins, the more people we’ll have on our side. The more people we have on our side, the more resources we’ll have to fight trafficking – and the more pangolins we can save.

Even if it takes one conversation at a time, we have to spread the word.

For the animals,