Last week I watched an utterly fascinating PBS Nature documentary called "The World's Most Wanted Animal". The subject was pangolins (a unique mammal that I have been interested in for years) and their plight which is rapidly endangering them with extinction. There is a huge Asian market for pangolins, both for their meat, considered a rare and exotic delicacy, and for their scales, the ingestion of which is (wrongly) purported to fight cancer and other human ailments. Efforts are underway to highlight and curtail the illegal trafficking of these shy, nonaggressive animals, whose only defense against predation is the very scales for which they are prized. You can watch the trailer above, and currently this Nature episode can be viewed on the PBS website here.
The Nature documentary follows the efforts of one woman to save African pangolins. The episode follows her both in Africa at her rehabilitation center and on a trip she takes to Asia to meet other pangolin rescuers as well as to get a first-hand look at the black market dealings that threaten the existence of both Asian and African pangolin species. We are introduced to a young pangolin named Honey Bun that this woman, Maria Diekmann, was forced to raise when its traumatized mother abandoned it at the rehabilitation center after she and her baby were rescued from an abusive situation. Raising the baby pangolin is extremely difficult as Honey Bun must forage for ants, her preferred food, every day to survive and her caretakers must accompany her on her journeys as she searches for sustenance, often walking miles every day.
While raising the young pangolin is hard, Maria tells us that she has been rewarded by learning so much more information about this African pangolin species than was ever known in the past. Honey Bun is so accustomed to humans that it is possible to film her everyday activities, and we get to see her bipedal locomotion as she forages, the ways in which her unique morphology allows her to consume ants while avoiding their painful stings, her attempts at digging a burrow, and even her antics at the rehabilitation center, where she lives in the house with Maria, as young pangolins are very tightly bonded to their mothers for months to years before they strike out on their own.
It is heartbreaking to see the black market footage but those portions of the show are kept to a minimum. The documentary tries to balance out the alarming statistics about the pangolin trade (these scaly mammals really are the most trafficked wildlife at this time) with the efforts of pangolin supporters to protect and save these animals. In the documentary, Maria heads to southeast Asia to visit the Save Vietnam's Wildlife rehabilitation center. She accompanies the rescuers as they release newly healthy Asian pangolins back into the wild.
Maria continues her journey to a meeting with a popular young actress in China who has made it her mission to raise Chinese awareness about the plight of pangolins. The actress, known as Angelababy, is hoping that her mostly young fans will pay attention to her message and help end the demand, which would go a long way to restoring pangolin populations in both Asia and Africa. Recently Angelababy has teamed with WildAid and The Nature Conservancy to produce a public service announcement asking the people of China to stop the marketing of pangolins - you can watch that video on YouTube below (it is short but to the point):
I hope you will watch the Nature documentary (once again, you can see the entire episode here), and that you will make others aware of these gentle creatures who desperately need our protection. For more information about pangolins and how to help, check out any or all of the following links:
African Wildlife Foundation - Pangolin
IUCN SSC Pangolin Specialist Group
People for Pangolins
Save Pangolins
Save Vietnam's Wildlife
The Nature Conservancy - Saving Pangolins
WildAid - Pangolins
World Pangolin Day
World Wildlife Fund - Pangolin
I am planning to purchase copies of the Nature episode about the pangolin's plight here to give as gifts for Christmas, because the more people who become aware of this little-known mammal the more likely they will be inclined to add their voices (and dollars) to the effort to save them. I already donate to some of the conservation organizations listed, and intend to add the ones targeting pangolin rescue specifically to my list. Let's all do what we can to help save pangolins from an unnecessary extinction threat!
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| From The Rainforest Site - Project Peril: Help Save the Pangolin |
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