Pangolins have been on the planet for 80 million years. They survived a mass extinction, 66 million years ago, when an asteroid collided with Earth, wiping out 75% of earth’s animals, including non-bird dinosaurs. Now, a pangolin is poached every five minutes, making them the most poached mammal on earth, threatened with extinction at the hands of man, and the title of 'the most poached mammal on the planet'.

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There are eight species of pangolins, four in Asia and four in Africa. Currently, the Asian pangolins are listed on the IUCN Red List as Endangered and Critically Endangered – from the over harvesting and use of pangolin scales in Chinese Traditional Medicine. This has resulted in the rampant illegal trade of Africa’s pangolins, which are exported to Vietnam and China, where 60% of the population of China use traditional medicine, and pangolins are considered a powerful cure. Pangolin scales consist of keratin (like fingernails) and their curative powers have never been proved. Pangolins, considered the ‘wise old man’, and ‘the bringer of rain’, by African indigenous cultures, are benign creatures that have no teeth and don’t vocalise, preying on ants and termites – essential for the balance of ecosystems wherever they occur.

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