Hi peeps!
I'm Peggy the Pangolin and sitting on my scaly tail is my baby Piney. He looks a bit like a pine cone, don't you think? You might have heard about Pangolins in the news recently, due to speculation about us being a possible source of coronavirus. Well, like so often, it's only when disaster strikes and humans are directly impacted that big problems, such as illegal wildlife trade are more broadly exposed, triggering actions for necessary change.
You may not know this but over the last decades Pangolins have become the most illegally traded mammal in the world! We've been hunted for our meat and scales (made from keratin, like your fingernails) so heavily that we’re on the brink of going extinct. A glimmer of hope came just a few weeks ago, when the Chinese government announced an upgrade in the protection for Pangolins while also removing our scales from the official listing of ingredients approved for use in medicines. And just days ago the Vietnamese government banned the import of wildlife and wildlife products to reduce the risk of new pandemics. Whether this will truly reduce the illegal pangolin trade is yet to be seen, but we're keeping our claws crossed!
Some fun facts about Pangolins:
Character: very shy, we scurry about mainly at night when others are sleeping.
Favourite food: ants and termites which we slurp up with our really long tongues – yummy!
Superpower: curl up into a ball when we feel scared or threatened by predators like lions or tigers, who get put off by our sharp scales.
Watch this short video about my cute little friend and worldwide celebrity Honeybun, who was rescued from poaching as a baby and raised in the REST wildlife centre in Namibia:
If you have more time, the beautifully filmed documentary Eye of the Pangolin highlights various conservation efforts across Africa, to help save us from extinction.
Some ways you can support Pangolins from afar:
Sign this petition to enforce a trade ban on endangered Pangolins: http://chng.it/CqmmzVyhPn
Donate to wildlife centres such as REST who are rescuing and rehabilitating Pangolins and playing a vital role in educating the world about this pressing tragedy.
Last but not least, I wanted to announce that my section of the RWN website is now live, listing some of my favourite Podcasts and Ted Talks on reconnecting with nature - go have a look/listen!
With love from
Peggy and all my Pangolin friends.
Photo credit: Gerald Cubitt
Photo credit: Gerald Cubitt
Photo credit: Roger Dolorosa