The pangolin’s extinction may arise from similar (scientifically unproven) beliefs. The animal’s scales are simply made from keratin, the same stuff as fingernails and hair, meaning they should have little nutritional value, but practitioners of Chinese medicine believe that they can cure a number of ills. The benefits are thought to arise, in part, from their behaviour in the wild. “The first medical use of pangolin scales was to treat ant stings – because they eat ants,” says Cheng Wenda, a PhD student in Bonebrake’s lab. “And because pangolins dig holes, they believe they can open some blockage in your body.” Perhaps for these reasons, some practitioners claim the scales can improve fertility and that they can even fight cancer.

These beliefs are deeply embedded in the culture, and many residents in Hong Kong continue to follow the ancient recipes – as Andersson showed with a recent survey. “We found that 85% of the respondents thought that pangolin scales had medicinal value, even though there is no peer-reviewed evidence for this.”

As with the shark fins, there had been some confusion about which pangolin species could be imported: until recently, it was legal to trade certain quantities ofthe African species, but it was very hard for law enforcers or consumers to verify the source. That changed with a new ruling of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species in late 2016, which now protects all species equally. “That was a very big win – now it’s as clear as day, black and white,” says Andersson. Even so, she suspects that a few of the shops we pass may be trading in the scales, although we would have to work hard to gain their trust before the traders would admit it openly.

In any case, most of the imported animals pass through Hong Kong to the rest of China. Its status as a ‘free port’ – a legacy of British occupation – has meant that customs regulations are traditionally lax, and its location makes it an easy route to the nearby Guangdong province, where demand is particularly high. The region is famed for its ‘wild flavour’ cuisine, including the use of bush meats – although the use of more controversial ingredients is often sheathed in secrecy. Andersson, for instance, remembers enquiring about the possibility of eating pangolin meat at a restaurant in Guangzhou. “They initially said yeah, we can organise that for you,” Andersson says – only for the waiter to return, pretending that he had no recollection of the conversation.