Pangolins are “the most trafficked mammal in the world.” This man wants to save them

(CNN) – Pangolins – quadruped mammals with sloth-like claws, an anteater snout, and diamond-shaped armor of scales – are considered the world’s most trafficked mammal. Some species are on the brink of extinction.

They are elusive and solitary animals, and population studies have not been able to estimate how many pangolins are left in the wild. Furthermore, they are very difficult to care for in captivity and often die without a clear cause.

There are eight species in Africa and Asia, classified from vulnerable to critically endangered. In Southeast Asia, where the Chinese and Sunda pangolins, two of the most threatened species, are found, the greatest danger is poaching.

They are coveted for their meat and also for their use in traditional medicine; Its scales, without testing, are believed to improve circulation and reduce inflammation.

In 2019, an estimated 195,000 pangolins were trafficked worldwide for their scales, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

According to the nonprofit Wildlife Justice Commission, their scales can be sold for up to US $ 740 per kilo in some Asian countries.

Thai Van Nguyen, the Vietnamese man who seeks to save pangolins

Today, Thai Van Nguyen, a Vietnamese environmentalist, has been awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize for his work in protecting animals. The annual award is awarded to six pioneering environmentalists, each of whom works on a different continent.

In 2014, Nguyen founded the NGO Save Vietnam’s Wildlife, based in the Cuc Phuong National Park, in the north central coast region of Vietnam.

Since then, he has created two pangolin rehabilitation centers, in Cuc Phuong and Pu Mat national parks; and an anti-poaching unit, training government rangers in wildlife conservation, animal identification, GPS skills, and drone technology.

The unit attacks large animal trafficking operations, rescuing up to 160 in a single raid. Nguyen claims that Save Vietnam’s Wildlife has released nearly 2,000 pangolins in total, and has been instrumental in pressuring the Vietnamese government to remove pangolins from the list of approved traditional medicines.

He estimates that he has educated more than 11,000 people so far about the importance of these animals and has helped reduce poaching by 80%.

“Losing the pangolin means losing a part of the ecosystem”

Nguyen, 39, says he grew up in the Vietnamese jungle. He fell in love with pangolins when he was eight years old, watching poachers haul them out of their burrows.

“I saw a mother (pangolin) curling up to protect her young,” he tells CNN. He decided to make protecting these strange animals his life’s work.

“The pangolin is the only scaly mammal in the world,” explains Nguyen. “Losing the pangolin means losing a part of the ecosystem, unbalancing it.”

Nguyen’s team carefully monitors the animals to develop a knowledge base for their protection. Some of the data comes from poachers, and his organization organizes workshops that bring together poachers, public officials and law enforcement officials to facilitate communication and prevent conflict.

“We invited them to the workshop to say, ‘We know you are a poacher, but we want to work together and change,'” says Nguyen.

Some results

Save Vietnam’s Wildlife states that in the three years following the establishment of the anti-poaching team in Pu Mat National Park, some 10,000 traps have been destroyed, 90 weapons confiscated, 800 cages removed and 800 cages removed. 600 poachers and traffickers arrested.

In rehabilitation centers, rescued pangolins are cared for and, once released, their activity is observed by radio marking and drone tracking.

Pangolins made headlines last year after researchers from Duke University and South China Agricultural University said they could be an intermediate host for the new coronavirus. Nguyen claims that this link helped conservation efforts.

In 2020, in an effort to prevent future pandemics, Vietnam’s prime minister issued a directive to tackle the illegal trade in wild animals in the country.

Also in 2020, in another effort to protect the sparse pangolin population and reduce the risk to human health, the Chinese government removed pangolin scales from the list of approved ingredients for use in traditional Chinese medicine.

A local solution

The Goldman Environmental Prize describes Nguyen’s work as “a crucial space to understand and protect this critically endangered animal.”

Dan Challender, an expert on pangolins and wildlife trade policy at the University of Oxford, says Nguyen and Save Vietnam’s Wildlife play a huge role in generating knowledge about the care of injured pangolins.

“The impressive thing about what it has done is that it is not just focused on rehabilitation and release,” says Challender, adding that conserving key areas for pangolins requires local solutions, like Nguyen’s.

Challender claims that pangolins play a vital role in their environment, controlling insect populations, and their burrows serve as a refuge for creatures such as bats, snakes, and mongooses.

“If we lost them (to the pangolins), that could have incalculable cascading effects on the ecosystems in which they live,” says the expert.

Nguyen is optimistic about the future of pangolins, as people know their plight better. “I see a change in young people, they are much more active,” he says.

“We hope that people meet the pangolin; how charming they are, the challenges they face, “he adds. “One person or organization cannot change everything, it cannot save the pangolin, but if we all act together, we can save the species from extinction.”