Pangolins, the most trafficked mammal in the world, could go extinct

Close-up of a pangolin from the Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital. The high demand for those scales is driving a burgeoning illegal trade, including in Malaysia. Photo: Filepic

Saturday was World Pangolin Day. But there wasn’t much to celebrate when just 10 days ago more than RM8mil worth of pangolins and their body parts and scales were discovered in a raid on a warehouse in Sabah.

Anti-wildlife trafficking authorities are warning of a global increase in the smuggling of this fully protected animal – all eight species of pangolins are now threatened with extinction.