PANGOLIN

The Pangolin

Pangolins are the world's most trafficked mammals — and most people have never heard of them. These peculiar creatures, covered in overlapping keratin scales (like roof tiles), look like walking pinecones. When threatened, they curl into a ball. They are the only mammals with this scale armor. And they are being eaten into extinction.

Pangolin scales are made of keratin — the same material as human fingernails — yet they're ground up and used in traditional medicine across Asia, falsely believed to cure everything from asthma to cancer. Pangolin meat is considered a delicacy in China and Vietnam. Between 2000 and 2019, over 1 million pangolins were seized from illegal trade — and experts believe the actual number is much higher.

All eight species of pangolin — four in Africa, four in Asia — are now threatened with extinction. The trade has gotten so bad that several species have been uplisted to Appendix I (highest protection) under CITES. But enforcement is difficult, demand is high, and the animals are easy to catch.