Meet the World’s Most Trafficked Animal -

By Samantha Salazar and Ryan Rawls

Last week on the first floor of Feldman, student Eli Freier sat behind a table with a caged boot, a box of medicine, and a pangolin statue. That might not make sense to many, but days before World Pangolin Day, he was there to bring awareness to the illegal trafficking that is causing the decline of this species. Pointing to the model pangolin in Feldman, Freier said the animal deserves to have its own spotlight.

“…We want to fight for their rights because they’re really interesting animals, they’re just not as well known.” – Eli Freier

What is a Pangolin?

These scaled mammals resemble both armadillos and anteaters but are not related to either. Despite their looks, they are a closer relative to cats and dogs. Like anteaters, pangolins have a long sticky tongue used for eating ants and termites. Their strong sense of smell allows them to find their prey without needing to rely on their poor eyesight.

There are eight species of pangolin spanning across Africa and Asia, said Freier. However, six out of the eight species are considered endangered while the remaining two species are vulnerable, according to the pangolin advocacy group, Save Pangolins. Pangolins sexually mature around two years of age, and typically only give birth to one offspring a year. With a slow reproduction rate and a solitary lifestyle, pangolins are being hunted faster than they can reproduce.

Poaching

The demand for their exclusive scales drives the illegal trafficking market for the bushmeat trade, clothing, and holistic medicine use. Freier said, “There have been many studies to see if there is any medical use to them, [but] they have not found any benefits to the scales”. When pangolins are threatened, their instinct is to roll into a ball and protect themselves with their armored body. According to experts, over 100,000 pangolins are poached every year.