The gentle pangolin has been under siege for decades, hunted because some believe, entirely without evidence, that its scales cure a range of medical problems. They’re gentle and placid and easy to transport, so the vast market for traditional medicine, especially in China, has made them the most poached animal on earth. They are now “critically endangered”. The African Pangolin Working Group has rescued trafficked pangolins, rehabilitated them and reintroduced them to the areas they came from in South Africa. Last year, the first rescued pangolin gave birth after resettling in the wild, a sure sign of the program’s success.
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