Endangered
Animals Want to Be Left Alone
Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel
Do you know what a pangolin is? Most people have
never heard of these solitary and nocturnal creatures that live in hollow trees
and burrows.
The cute, anteater-like animals, that are native to Asia and
Africa, are the only known mammals to have scales. They also hold the unwanted
distinction of being the #1 most-poached and trafficked mammal in the
world.
With more than a million pangolins killed in the past
decade, the pangolin is on the road to extinction unless laws are enacted - and
enforced - to save it. The International Union for the Conservation of
Nature (IUCN) has the pangolin on its Red List of animals threatened with
extinction.
What makes pangolins such a desirable target for poachers?
It's because of the high demand in the Asia marketplace for their scales,
which are used in everything from making jewelry and accessories to medicines
and haute cuisine.
Medicine shops in Asia sell the scales as a cure for
virtually anything from arthritis to cancer. Restaurants grind up the scales
for smoothie drinks and to use as spices in soups and stews. Pangolin meat is
also served as an "exotic delicacy" that's said to be an aphrodisiac.
Ranging in size from 1 - 31/2-ft-long, pangolins' bodies are
covered in scales made up of keratin (the substance in human hair and nails). A
type of body armor provided by nature to protect it, the scales have had the
opposite effect, putting pangolins at risk from poachers who can sell the
scales for hundreds of dollars per pound.
In June 2016, 4 tons of pangolin scales were seized by Hong Kong
authorities after they were found in a shipment originating from Cameroon,
Africa. The value of the scales was estimated to be $1.25 million. The
smuggled shipment was labeled on the manifest as "sliced plastics."
SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel learned that
the illegal trafficking of wildlife around the world is over $20 billion.
What's more, pangolin trafficking is getting worse each year, fueled by the
growing middle class in China and other Asian countries, such as Vietnam. In
those cultures being able to afford the pangolin scales and meat is viewed as a
sign of status and wealth.
The pangolin's name is derived from the Malay word pengguling
- "to roll up." That's what a pangolin does when it's scared or
defending itself, curling up into a ball with its head tucked underneath its
tail. Normally, this - along with it's armor of scales and the ability to emit
a skunk-like odor - would be enough to keep predators at bay.
But,when the predator is a global network of poachers,
pengguling provides scant protection.
Like an ostrich
putting its head in the sand, the poor pangolin is defenseless...
unless people around the world step in to stop the illegal trafficking.
unless people around the world step in to stop the illegal trafficking.
Please post your comment below.
Comments will appear the next day.
Sunny
Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material.
Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com
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