Facts about Pangolins

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Did you know pangolins have scales made of keratin, unlike armadillos whose shells are made of bony plates? Learn more.

Pangolins are solitary, primarily nocturnal animals – so there’s a good chance you aren’t too familiar with them.

They look pretty cool with their scale-covered bodies, which acts like a suit of armour to protect them – but a pangolin’s biggest threat isn’t a predatory animal, it’s humans.

The name, “pangolin”, is derived from the Malay word “pengguling”, which loosely translates to “something that rolls up” – and the name is pretty literal, because that’s how they defend themselves. When feeling threatened, the small mammals roll up in a ball, so only their scaly suit of armour is exposed. You may have seen an echidna or armadillo doing the same thing!

Why are pangolins endangered?

Pangolins are the most trafficked mammals in the entire world. More than 1 million are estimated to have been killed and traded between 2000 and 2013. All eight species of pangolins are featured on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, ranging from vulnerable to critically endangered, on par with rhinos and tigers.

The thing that makes pangolins so unique, is what they’re hunted for – their scales. Once a pangolin is mercilessly killed, their scales are sold on the black market. Sadly, one pangolin is the equivalent to four month’s income for a pangolin hunter in rural India. Driven by the demand for use in traditional medicine, pangolins are being exploited for commercial gain, in a practice that is both inhumane and unsustainable. 

Particularly in China and Vietnam, pangolin scales are thought to have curative properties. But they’re made of keratin, the same thing as our own fingernails and hair, and have no proven medicinal value. In some countries, pangolin meat is also considered to be a delicacy, with the scales used as decorations for rituals and jewellery. 

To keep up with black market demand, pangolins are hunted and slaughtered cruelly where they endure immense suffering. Their natural defence mechanism, to curl up into a ball, makes them easy for a human hand to grab. They are often smoked and dragged out of trees and burrows, bludgeoned with clubs and machetes and then boiled, often alive, for their scales.  

Suffering at scale

We carried out a two-year study into pangolin hunting in Assam, India, to gain a deeper understanding into how and why pangolins are still so highly sought after on the black market. The report Suffering At Scale – pangolin poaching for the traditional medicine trade outlines our findings.

To protect pangolins from the unimaginable suffering they endure we are calling for:

• Investment in and promotion of herbal and synthetic alternatives
• Combined and coordinated efforts by governments, NGOs and the traditional Asian medicine community to eliminate consumer demand for pangolin-based traditional Asian medicines, particularly in China and Vietnam
• Support for alternative livelihoods, alleviation of poverty and education programs within rural communities wherever pangolins are found globally, to stop the slaughter.  

By keeping the pressure on and working together, we can save the pangolins from extinction and help these gentle, shy creatures live in peace and without suffering.

Read our report: Suffering at Scale