The endangered Sunda pangolin is the only species of scaly anteater found in Cambodia, but alarming declines in their numbers have conservationists, scientists, and wildlife managers questioning just how much longer this nation will have any to call her own.
Media reports claim Thai authorities have thwarted an attempt to smuggle 50 pangolins into China via Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), a major transit route used by wildlife traffickers.
Three Zimbabwean men have been sentenced after they were found in illegal possession of a pangolin, which they apparently intended to use in superstitious rites to improve their mining business.
In a press conference held last Friday, the Lhasa Customs Office confirmed that porous Tibetan borders are being used to smuggle illicit drugs, pangolin scales, and other highly sought after wildlife products into China from other countries. Read more
Last week, the Assam Rifles—an Indian paramilitary force—apprehended two young men and seized from them fourteen kilograms of pangolin scales, two mobile phones, and a bank card, according to online news source, E-Pao. Read more
A must-read for anyone interested in learning more about the illegal wildlife trade: Black Market: Inside the Endangered Species Trade in Asia by Ben Davies is a shocking portrait of the plundering of endangered species destined for Asia’s illegal wildlife markets.
Malaysia’s Department of Wildlife and National Parks — more commonly known as Perhilitan — has reportedly arrested two men after they were found with a dozen defenseless pangolins in the rear of their vehicle.
A pangolin trade report compiled earlier this year by NGO Education for Nature-Vietnam (ENV) has uncovered disturbing information about the trafficking of these little-known mammals.
In two separate incidents within a 30-day span, authorities in Thailand and Indonesia have rescued more than 200 pangolins from wildlife traffickers.
With at least one pangolin being killed every hour of every day throughout their Asiatic range, this elusive creature has become the most commonly smuggled mammal in Southeast Asia. The extent of illegal pangolin trade is shocking and experts say the two most endangered species could go extinct within ten years, if current trends continue.