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About us

Pangolins are one of the most heavily trafficked animals in Southeast Asia and China.

These defenseless mammals are being slaughtered to extinction – simply to meet a demand based on superstitions and exploited by greed.

Experts warn that the illegal trade in pangolins will render them extinct within our lifetime – yet most people have never heard of a pangolin!

We are using social media and creative content to expose the truth behind the illegal trade in pangolins – before it’s too late.

Project Pangolin was launched in October 2011.

Meet the Project Pangolin writers:

Rhishja Cota-Larson, Editor
“Because people need to know, that’s why.”

Rhishja has been writing about endangered species and wildlife trafficking since 2009.

She founded Saving Rhinos in 2007, and is the host of Behind the Schemes, and the author of the blog Rhino Horn is NOT Medicine and the book Murder, Myths & Medicine.

Rhishja is a writer for the environmental news blog Planetsave, and was a guest blogger for National Geographic’s NatGeo News Watch (Rhino horn: All myths, no medicine) and a contributor on Jeff Corwin Connect.

Her work has been referenced by diverse sources, including The New York Times, Antique Week, and Consultancy Africa Intelligence. She has been interviewed on Mongabay (“Belief and butchery: how lies and organized crime are pushing rhinos to extinction“), “The Wildlife” radio talk show, and BBC World Business Report.

Rhishja currently assists TRAFFIC Southeast Asia with public awareness campaigns, and provides research to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) on an ad hoc basis.

She also designs and sells rhino t-shirts to help fund the work of Saving Rhinos. A portion of the proceeds help support rhino conservation efforts in Nepal, via Partnership for Rhino Conservation (PARC).

Rhishja is a Stanford Certified Project Manager (Stanford Center for Professional Development, Stanford University) and has a BA degree in Government from California State University, Sacramento.

Sarah Pappin, Writer

Sarah is a biologist-turned-writer who has written well over 100 articles about illegal wildlife trafficking – including the pangolin trade – at her previous role with the Bush Warriors blog.

Her first experience directly working with wildlife came in high school, when she spent several weekends job shadowing the marine mammal caretakers at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. This inspired her to continue to feed her passion for wildlife at Oregon State University (OSU).

While studying for her BS in Wildlife Science at Oregon State University, Sarah spent several months in Namibia as an intern for a cheetah research and conservation project.

She is inspired by personal role models like Dr. Lisa Needles, Dr. Selina Heppell, Dr. Anita Morzillo, and Dr. Joe Beatty. She has been influenced by many famous wildlife heroes, especially Jeff Corwin, Steve and Terri Irwin, Alexandra Morton, and Jane Goodall.

After graduation, Sarah spent considerable time involved in research on bears, sea turtles, as well as other reptiles and amphibians. She has worked for the State of New York as a big game technician, with a focus on black bears.

Sarah is also an artist – she drew the pangolin in the Project Pangolin logo!

(The logo looks fabulous on our pangolin t-shirts, too! A portion of the proceeds from Project Pangolin t-shirts are contributed to Education for Nature-Vietnam.)

Connect with Project Pangolin

Check out our pangolin t-shirts and more! A portion of the Project Pangolin t-shirts are contributed to Education for Nature-Vietnam. Learn more about illegal pangolin trade in Vietnam here.