Pangolins are one of the least known but the most poached animals on our planet.
There are 8 different sub-species, 4 African and 4 Asian – all are threatened with extinction. They are the only scaled mammal on our planet.
Incredible other worldly creatures that most of us have never seen in the wild, the gentle pangolin eats millions of insects and so is a natural pest controller. They aerate the soil as they dig for food providing an essential role in the ecosystem.
Pangolins are shy nocturnal forest-dwelling animals that live either on the ground, sheltering in burrows, or up in trees, sheltering in hollows. When threatened they curl up into a ball – making it easy to for them to be poached.
Every 5 mins a pangolin is taken illegally from the wild. It’s estimated that we have lost 1 million pangolins in the last 20 years. Pangolins are killed for their meat and scales.
In 2016 all trade in Pangolins was made illegal by CITES, the convention on illegal trade in endangered species.
In 2023 Stampede International will launch a campaign initiative to help these wonderful creatures – and the people that are trying to protect them – are you with us?
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