When people first see the Pangolin, there often are puppy dog eyes and a big, old, ‘awwwwwwwwwww!’ from the crowd. The lumbering, large creature certainly is cute, no doubt about that. But something people don’t know is that Pangolins are endangered. Critically.

According to www.pangolins.org there are eight different types of Pangolins: four from Asia, and four from Africa. The four species from Africa are all vulnerable to extinction, while two kinds of pangolins from Asia are endangered, and the other two are labeled as critically endangered.

For those who don’t know, pangolins look like armadillos or anteaters with armour. Their tiny, long pink tongue, and big, beautiful eyes, make these animals hard not to adore. Their scales cover most of their body, alike their cousins, the armadillos, and are the perfect color for blending into the sandy terrain.

Each year, black market demand and poachers kill more than 10,000 pangolins. Pangolin scales are made of keratin, a name you may recognize from Biology class. Keratin is what makes up our hair, fingernails, nose, ears, and shark’s skin, for example. Traditionally in Chinese and Vietnamese medicines, pangolin scales are supposed to heal cancer, arthritis, and swelling, and are still used today contrary to no scientific evidence or proof that the medicine actually works. Labeled the ‘most trafficked animal in the world’ by BBC, pangolins are quickly following the same fate of the Dodo bird.

Recently, BBC, CNN, the New York Times, and Sydney Morning Herald all reported on one thing: the stopping of a shipment of pangolin scales and elephant tusks. The ship was from Nigeria, and instead of carrying the frozen beef it claimed it did, the ship instead carried 8,300kg of pangolin scales and 2,100kg of elephant ivory tusks, worth roughly eight million US dollars. Two men were arrested, and the products were confiscated, but that does not change the millions of innocent animal lives that were lost.

The 16th of February was a special day, but not one recognized by most people. It’s the World Pangolin Day, this year’s third Saturday being the eighth annual. 2020’s World Pangolin Day will be on the 15th. Be sure to tell your friends how they can assist the rescue of the pangolin!