Pangolins Are Most Trafficked Mammal

As the world's only mammals completely covered in scales, pangolins employ a unique defense mechanism: rolling into a tight, armored ball. While this is effective against natural predators like lions, it makes them tragically easy for human poachers to simply pick up and carry away. This vulnerability is at the heart of their crisis, as they are relentlessly hunted for their meat, which is considered a delicacy, and especially for their scales, which are highly valued in some traditional medicinal practices for unproven remedies.

The immense demand for these scales has created a devastating global black market. Scientifically, the scales offer no special curative power; they are made of keratin, the same protein that forms our own hair and fingernails. Yet, the trade has been so rampant that it has severely depleted pangolin populations across Asia. As a result, trafficking networks have increasingly shifted their focus to the four pangolin species native to Africa to supply the demand. This international pressure has put all eight species of pangolin at high risk of extinction, making their conservation a critical global priority.