[TwistedSisterr]

Lucky is a pangolin -- a rare, scale-covered mammal, about the size of a house cat, that’s so bizarre it almost forces your brain to flip through a Rolodex of more-familiar images.

It could be described as a walking pinecone or an artichoke with legs – a tiny dinosaur or friendly crocodile. The pangolin possesses none of the cachet of better-known animals that are hot on the international black market. It lacks the tiger’s grace, the rhino’s brute strength. If the pangolin went to high school, it would be the drama geek -- elusive, nocturnal, rarely appreciated and barely understood. When it's frightened, it actually curls up into a roly-poly ball.

The pangolin could go extinct before most people realize it exists. Or, more to the point: It could go extinct because of that. Pangolins -- two species of which are endangered and all of which are protected by international treaty -- are trafficked by the thousands for their scales, which are boiled off their bodies for use in traditional medicine; for their meat, which is a high-end delicacy here and in China; and for their blood, which is seen as a healing tonic.

"It's almost like, 'You've got a pangolin you've got a brown bag lunch -- and also a medicine chest,'" said Crawford Allan, director of TRAFFIC North America and a pangolin lover. (He's got a wooden carving of a pangolin in his office in Washington.)
The numbers are astounding. By the most conservative estimates, 10,000 pangolins are trafficked illegally each year. If you assume only 10% to 20% of the actual trade is reported by the news media, the true number trafficked over a two-year period was 116,990 to 233,980, according to Annamiticus, an advocacy group.

No one knows how many pangolins are left in the wild. But scientists and activists say the number is shrinking fast. Some experts say the pangolin is likely the most trafficked mammal in the world. It’s impossible to say for certain, of course, because poachers don’t exactly submit spreadsheets on their activities. But aside from pangolins, only elephants would come close to the most-trafficked title in terms of total numbers, said Dan Challender, co-chair of the pangolin specialist group at the International Union for Conservation of Nature and a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Kent.

Yet, few seem to care. International environmental groups and governments have been slow to fund pangolin research and rescue. You don’t see them on the cover of National Geographic. You rarely find them in marketing campaigns. On a two-week trip to Vietnam and Indonesia, I did come across a few pangolin enthusiasts who have dedicated their lives to saving these curious creatures.

[kellyhound]

hate poachers

[Photoplay]

The most trafficked mammal in the world and I had never heard of them before. Thanks for info
Nasty seeing them lying piled up in that bowl.

[knuggy]

I would think humans would take that title..

[TwistedSisterr]

Originally Posted by knuggy ↗

I would think humans would take that title..

in all reality your right

[candice81]

Im NOT racist BUT why do the Asians do this??? whales, Sharks, Dolphins, Dogs, These cute little dragons, etc....it sure doesn't make we like them.

[TwistedSisterr]

Originally Posted by candice81 ↗

Im NOT racist BUT why do the Asians do this??? whales, Sharks, Dolphins, Dogs, These cute little dragons, etc....it sure doesn't make we like them.

that is one race I would never screw with
but yeah, idk

[Sharon]

Originally Posted by candice81 ↗

Im NOT racist BUT why do the Asians do this??? whales, Sharks, Dolphins, Dogs, These cute little dragons, etc....it sure doesn't make we like them.

Asking why a population does something is not a racist thing

Their appetite is plain bonkers. I saw footage of an Asian girl eating a LIVE scorpion that was impaled on a stick, nibbling it bit by bit

[Bastet]

Originally Posted by knuggy ↗

I would think humans would take that title..

I would've thought that too!

A very vivid and informative post indeed, thanks for sharing

[bob351]

I cant wait for china to wake the fuck up already. Same goes for japan and its incessant pillaging of the oceans.