The heavy-duty scales of the pangolin are unfortunately no defence against human hunters
The enigmatic pangolin, or scaly anteater, is literally being eaten out of existence, report the Zoological Society of London (ZSL).
According to the latest update of The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™, all eight species are now threatened with extinction.
Resembling an artichoke with legs and a tail, the pangolin is the world’s only truly scaly mammal.
However, their scales act as armour against natural predators but offer no defence against poachers.
The IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Pangolin Specialist Group, which is hosted by ZSL, warns that pangolins are now the most illegally traded mammal in the world, with more than one million individuals believed to have been taken from the wild in the past decade.
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