As World Pangolin Day is marked around the globe, some conservationists in South Africa are working to protect the endangered animals, including caring for some which have been rescued from traffickers.
The eighth annual pangolin day is celebrated to raise awareness about the shy, nocturnal scaly anteater, which has been named as the world’s most trafficked animal by some wildlife organisations.
In South Africa, traffickers often sell pangolin meat locally and ship the scales to Asia, where they are in demand for use in traditional medicine.
Africa’s four species of pangolins are under increasing pressure from poachers because Asia’s four species have been badly hit, according to experts.
While commercial trade in all eight species is forbidden, international confiscations of African pangolin scales amounted to about 47 tonnes in 2017, more than double the quantity seized in the previous year, according to the African Pangolin Working Group.
Pangolin scales contain keratin, a protein also found in rhino horn and human fingernails.
There is no scientific proof that they provide any medicinal value.
Conservationists say more than one million pangolins have been poached since around 2000; the various kinds range from vulnerable to critically endangered on a list of threatened species.
