A Scaly Problem – What is driving the demand for pangolins?

Pangolins are widely recognised as the most trafficked mammal globally.

Let that statement sink in for a moment. More than rhinos or elephants. Pangolins. A small, armoured animal you have probably never seen in your life. An estimated one million pangolins have been harvested in the wild in the last decade, with poaching levels in Africa reaching industrial scale.

I first learned about these gentle creatures, and the threat they are facing, at a public talk hosted by the Ditsong Natural History Museum – the first step in a new exhibition design. During the Q and A afterwards, I was struck by how guests were conflating pangolin cultural uses in Africa and Asia. Given the potential impact this kind of confusion could have on conservation efforts, I wanted to take a moment to explore how communities on the two continents engage with this elusive animal.