In the grasslands of south-east Asia, a strange creature the size of a domestic cat emerges from a deep burrow in search of its supper. Covered in hard scales but with a soft pink underbelly, beady little eyes, a long snout and a strong, thick tail, it has a sticky tongue as long as its body, to slurp up ants and termites. The Chinese pangolin looks like a walking pine cone – something from the pages of a fairy-tale. Females give birth only once a year, to just one baby at a time, known as a pangopup.
There are eight species of pangolin and all of them are under threat. They are the world’s only scaly mammal, and the most illegally trafficked animal on Earth; over 100,000 pangolins are caught by poachers every year across Asia and Africa – that’s roughly one every five minutes. These mostly nocturnal creatures are sensitive little souls, making it difficult to care for those rescued. Sadly, the pangolin’s defence is also its downfall. It curls up into a tight, scaly ball to protect itself, but this simply makes it easier for a pangolin poacher to scoop them up.