The Mozambique Pangolin - Fighting Extinction and Trafficking скачать в хорошем качестве

The Mozambique Pangolin - Fighting Extinction and Trafficking

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the pangolin is the most trafficked mammal in the world. More than a million pangolins have been poached from the wild in the past decade because its scales are thought to have medicinal properties. Pangolins are nocturnal and solitary, particularly vulnerable to poaching pressures because of their slow reproductive rate, sensitivity to capture-induced stress, and instinct to curl into a ball when threatened rather than try to escape. As the only mammal in the world covered by scales, when the unique animal curls into a ball its armor can fend off lions, however this protective posture provides it no defense against humans. Chinese medicine followers believe that pangolin scales have medicinal benefits. However, Pangolin scales are made of keratin, similar to human fingernails and rhino horns. Despite the absence of scientific evidence to support the alleged curative properties, 70% of Chinese citizens believe pangolin products have medicinal value to cure ailments ranging from skin rashes to asthma to cancer. In traditional medicine shops baby pangolin are submerged in rice wine to create a health tonic thought to increase virility. And some Asians consider its meat a delicacy. All 8 pangolin species are threatened by extinction--including the Ground Pangolin endemic to Mozambique. The four pangolin species of Africa ( ground pangolin, giant pangolin, white-bellied, and black-bellied) are thought to have more stable populations than their Asian relatives, but as criminal trafficking networks decimate Asian populations, Africa’s pangolins are being poached and trafficked in greater volumes to Asian markets around the world. With significant reductions in demand and improved law enforcement to counter illegal wildlife trade, pangolins will likely be poached into extinction by the end of this century. Insectivores, feeding primarily on ants and termites, pangolins may eat up to 70 million insects each year, thereby acting as natural pest controllers and supporting agro-ecological systems and the people living within them. In addition to keeping potential crop-damaging insect populations in check and thus lessening the need for harmful pesticide use, pangolins further benefit crops and humans by helping to aerate soil as they dig for prey. Mozambique is part of the range for the Temminick’s Ground Pangolin that thrives in dry savannah habitats. Due to their nocturnal and elusive nature, very little data exists on the species population in Mozambique and very few people have seen them in the wild; in captivity they are known to only live for a short time due to stress and dietary complications. With USAID support, the Gorongosa Project conservation team rescues pangolins around the park, nurtures and reintroduces trafficked animals back to the wild, and conducts research to inform local and global scientific communities on ways to better protect and care for these unique animals. The word pangolin is derived from the Malay word ‘penggulung’ which means roller – representative of how pangolins behave when they feel threatened, rolling up into a ball.