Have you ever heard of a mammal with its back made of scales that can curl up into a ball?
They are called pangolins. Pangolins are very extraordinary animals but many people have never heard of them, and with the rate at which their existence is threatened, coming generations may never get to see a pangolin alive again.
Now its threatened extinction is not because the animal failed to adapt, or because nature ran out of space for it, but because, for so long, they have been hunted and traded for human benefit.
Currently, pangolins are the most trafficked wild animals in the world because of high demand, poverty due to limited income options for the hunters, and weak environmental protection.
In continents like Africa and Asia, pangolins are being pushed toward extinction. Particularly in Asia, pangolin scales are traded for use in traditional medicine, and their meat is tagged as a special delicacy. Due to this, four Asian pangolin populations have collapsed under years of overexploitation, and gradually, the trafficking networks have shifted to Africa, where wildlife protection is often underfunded, and borders are poorly monitored. In Africa, on the other hand, research shows that the illegal hunting of the endangered pangolin is used mainly for food (bush meat), not necessarily its scales.
It is easy to overlook pangolins because they are rarely seen and do not attract the attention that larger animals do. But their role in the ecosystem matters, especially in the protection of biodiversity. Pangolins feed mainly on ants and termites, helping to control insect populations that could otherwise damage forests and farmland. Through their digging and burrowing, they also improve soil health and create spaces that other small animals use. If they go extinct, these natural balances are disrupted, reducing biodiversity and making ecosystems weaker. Unfortunately, even with the role they play in nature, pangolins are relentlessly hunted and traded out of sight. The endangered pangolin scales are hidden in shipping containers, mixed with legal goods, and moved quietly across borders. When seizures make the news, they only show a small part of what is really being trafficked.
For example, just recently in Nigeria, operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service intercepted four live pangolins being smuggled in wire mesh cages through Alapa Creek, Ajilete, during an intelligence-led night patrol.
Losing pangolins would not only mean the disappearance of a rare and ancient species but also the gradual weakening of ecosystems that depend on them. So putting a stop to that kind of future now depends on our choice to protect what remains and to act, before this gentle, ancient animal is lost forever.
Written by Glory Akenu, Communications Associate.
