PANGOLINS UNDER THREAT OF EXTINCTION – AS ILLICIT TRADE RISES 

One of the rare animal species in the world, the Pangolin, is under severe threat such that future generations may not be able to have a glimpse of it in years to come. These are times when mother earth cries wondering whether or not she will be able to serve our grandchildren with ecosystem services.

Pangolins exist in different parts of the world including Africa and Asia. In these areas pangolins prefer a natural habitat but mostly travel at night looking for food. However, threats are emerging from poaching and trafficking of pangolins for their special perceived and other qualities. In the African context, pangolins are poached for game meat whilst in the Asian context they are believed to possess mysterious magical powers, particularly through their scales. Another unproven notion claims that pangolins have a penchant of providing good luck fortunes.

Solitude is the lifestyle of pangolins and they thrive on eating insects. Although they roll up in a defensive posture, this has not deterred the trafficking of pangolins. It has only been useful in the wild against predators.

The pangolin gained popularity due to its rare appearance, character and perceived uses – some of which are unsubstantiated. Therefore due to this popularity it has been hunted for many decades across the world, to the extent where it is now classified under the vulnerable, threatened and critically endangered species. It is time to act now in order to stop the illegal exploitation and trafficking of pangolins.

Innocently believing that it is protecting itself, the shy, strange looking, nocturnal mammal when threatened curls into a tight ball of scales, rather than running or climbing to safety. How can this rare mammal save itself and its offspring from demise?

Curled up in one place, the scaly from tip to tail mammal with its full armor of scales awaits readily for its predator prepared to lash out its sharp scaled tail in defense. Unfortunately, this works only against fellow wild animals, as for the poachers the job would have been made easy. With just one scoop the poor pangolin is bagged, and its fate now lies in the hands of the poacher.

Poachers have proved to be a dire threat to the life of all eight species of pangolins across Africa and Asia. Pangolins are currently the most trafficked mammal in the world and have been envisaged to be at the brink of extinction.

According to National Geographic’s Rachael Bale; Dan Challender, the chair of the pangolin specialist group with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) infer that in the last decade there has been a massive growth in the intercontinental trade of pangolins.

Traditional healers in Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Zimbabwe and the whole of Sub Saharan Africa believe that pangolin scales can cure any ailment from asthma, rheumatism to arthritis and that they can also be used in rituals to chase away evil spirits.

Burning the scales of pangolins is also controversially believed to cure nose bleeding. The question that this generation should answer is how far true the claims are, if not myths. The growth of mythology and theoretically unproven beliefs of the capabilities of biodiversity is one of the key issues that is driving extinction of species in the wild.

In Zimbabwe despite the custodial sentence and mandatory jail term of 9 years for anyone found in possession of pangolins, some Zimbabweans continue to have an affinity of dealing with pangolins.

Although pangolins have been controlled by the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITIES); there has been limited curtailment of the demise of pangolin populations in Africa.

This persistently high demand for pangolin constituting products has seen some companies continuously producing pangolin containing medicines. Some countries have been making medicines with constituents made from pangolin scales and the unfortunate part is that some of these pangolins are coming from Zimbabwean forests.

Despite national laws and international conventions, trafficking remains a major threat to pangolin survival and requires a more integrated approach from all stakeholders including communities, governmental bodies, non-governmental bodies as well as ministries to curb this problem which threatens to obliterate an entire species.

Nature lovers who like to marvel at the uniqueness of different species will be disenfranchised by a total annihilation of pangolins and it will be a big loss to those countries where they are endemic. Communities that thrive on tourism may end up bearing the brunt of low tourist arrivals and reduced income.

Will we be able to live to show our children, grandchildren, great grandchildren the real pangolins or will it be a sad folk tale with only pictures and videos as evidence? The current generation is already missing the Western Black Rhino which was hunted to extinction for its horns.

According to Save the Rhino Organisation the Western Black Rhino was officially declared extinct in 2011 by the IUCN after the last sightings had been done in 2003.

As the human wildlife conflict escalates, tough choices have to be made in order to ensure that endangered species are protected from extinction and unsustainable utilization.