This curious looking and endearing creature is a pangolin, the world’s only scaled mammal and the most trafficked. Shy, nocturnal and defenceless, they are being poached to extinction for traditional Chinese and Vietnamese ‘medicine’ and the cooking pot.
Pangolin scales are made of keratin, the same substance as our hair and fingernails. Despite having no proven medicinal benefits, they are touted to cure everything from cancer to a hangover.
Ill treatment of animals is a worldwide issue, as is bushmeat consumption. However, changing attitudes is a complex issue best achieved through education.
A rare image from our camera trap project. Pangolins are the worldwide most trafficked mammals.
The Sunda pangolin is found in Indonesia, and they share the same habitat as orangutans. So, those within BOS Foundation’s preserved forests are afforded some desperately needed protection.
We were recently delighted to see a pangolin on one of our camera traps.
By protecting the forests for orangutans, a plethora of other species benefit too, and aside from being allowed the right to live their lives in peace, each is essential to a healthy ecosystem.
