How many pangolins would one need to kill and skin to get eight tons of scales? The official estimate is 16,000 pangolins. As a slow-to-reproduce mammal, the pangolins of the world are facing an onslaught unlike any ever seen against a wild animal. It was popularly tagged as the most heavily trafficked animal in the illegal wildlife trade in 2016 but I guess with Brexit, a tweet happy President in the US and our short attention spans, saving wildlife is not exactly something that could dominate our news feeds.

Francis Roy/ Danau Girang Field Centre Sunda pangolin in Sabah, Malaysia

Yet this bit of news from Sabah needs our attention because Presidents and trade deals will come and go but wildlife once extinct, cannot be renewed in four years time.

What is a pangolin? In case you have not heard of this animal, it has to be without question the most unique mammal on this fragile planet. Unlike other mammals with fur or skin, pangolins have scales like fish. That’s correct. Scales on a live-bearing mammal. There is no other animal like it in the world. The scales are the pangolins curse. It has become a status symbol for the nouveau-riche in Asia who will not hesitate to spend thousands of dollars on a pangolin dish or travel long distances to eat pangolins.

The scales are the pangolins sole defense for survival. When threatened, it will roll itself up into a ball leaving nothing except these tough scales exposed to predators teeth or claws. This mode of defense has worked well for the pangolins against it natural enemies but unfortunately makes it easy picking for human hunters who can simply pick up the rolled up animal.

Pangolin species under attack globally

I have monitored news on pangolins for a few years and am thankful for the privilege of knowing some of the top conservationists working to save pangolins. The reports of confiscations of pangolin scales may have fallen off popular media as other world news occupy our headlines but trust me, the trade continues as furiously as Trump tweets.

From the pangolin range countries in Asia to Africa to Southeast Asia, pangolins are being hunted to extinction to feed a lucrative illegal trade in their scales and meat. Most of the news reports have identified the source of pangolin scales as Africa with the odd sensational seizure of frozen pangolins from Indonesia. I would have never expected a news alert from Sabah state in Malaysia.

You see, from what I’ve seen in Sabah state’s conservation efforts, it is likely to be the best place for orangutans and elephants to survive alongside with development. The recent reports on pangolin confiscations in Malaysia all had to do with African shipments caught en route to China. Based on information I’ve gathered from Indonesian Kalimantan and the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, the population levels of pangolins in Borneo have fallen to such a low level that all locals reported back to me as “rare today, hard to find but common ten years ago”

So how did this bastard trader in Sabah manage to collect eight tons of pangolin scales to ship to China? Is he buying them from Sarawak state and Kalimantan? Pangolins are protected by law in all these regions but that has not stopped netizens from sharing their kill photos or even advertising how much money they are getting from their kills.

Alex Son, Wan Azroy, Nyukil Belalai Social media posts showing off pangolin kills despite their protected status

Quoting the Director of Sabah Customs Department on this issue:

The amount of pangolins is so high, it’s doubtful it could all be from Sabah

Sabah Needs to Upgrade Legal Protection of Its Pangolins.

The Sabah Wilife Department has the means and the ability to upgrade the status of pangolins in Sabah to Total Protection. No one should be pressured to know what the pangolin is before its being eaten to extinction. If there was another mammal with scales, maybe then we could pick and choose which species to protect but there isn’t. Pangolins are one of a kind and deserve to be the icon of any efforts to save wildlife globally.

An online petition is available to urge the Director of Sabah’s Wildlife Department to push for legislation to totally protect pangolins in Sabah. You can add your voice for pangolins in the petition link below.

https://www.change.org/p/sabah-wildlife-department-save-the-pangolins-in-sabah-malaysia?source_location=minibar