“The Tragic Tale of a Pangolin, the World’s Most Trafficked Animal”.

With this thematic report, I will be taking about “The Tragic Tale of a Pangolin, the World’s Most Trafficked Animal” is the short film about the Illegal trade of pangolin. It is directed by Nick Rogacki and written by Katie Schuler.

Its story

The story starts with a poacher who moved to a pangolin habitat along with his domestic dog. Dogs contain a much stronger sense of smell that’s why they detect suspicious activities. In the same way, many pangolin hunters use the dog for searching pangolin burrow and their indirect signs. After numerous attempts, the hunter was able to catch the pangolin. Whenever pangolins feel threatened, they roll like a ball, and this kind of behavior ease hunter to pick them. He brutally killed the pangolin and boiled it in hot water to separate scales. Pangolins are only the mammal to be covered with scales. Their scales are made up of keratin, the same protein that makes our hair and fingernail. He extracted scales and cut down the pangolin body into smaller pieces as like a chicken.

He put those pangolin scales and meat in his son’s bag when his son was ready to leave for school and ordered to handle it to the middleman. The middleman picked those scales and meat and gave cash to the poacher’s son. It is believed that the scales of a single pangolin can support a poacher and his family for a week. Finally, the scales and meat reached the smuggler where it’s only a tiny constituent, tons and tons of pangolin scales and meats are shipped to Asian countries like China, Myanmar, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Malaysia but mainly in China and Vietnam. 

Pangolin meat is considered a delicacy and is in high demand in many restaurants in China and Vietnam. Its meat is often served as the most expensive item on the restaurant menu (KC, 2019a). Pangolin scales are used in traditional Chinese medicine with the myths of curing many diseases including mental illnesses, cancer, and asthma (KC, 2019b). However, there is no scientific evidence behind these because pangolins scales are made from Keratin, the same substance that makes our fingernails and rhino horns.

Its conservation message

The pangolin is a highly threatened mammal on this planet and increasing illegal trade of their scales and meats brings them close to extinction. There is no scientific evidence to support their medicinal values because their scales are comprised of keratin, the same protein that makes our hair and fingernails. Pangolins are regarded as the farmer’s friend, as single pangolin can consume around 70 million ants and termites annually. We, the human are the guardian of pangolins so, it is only us who can save these peculiar species from extinction.

The story is overly based on the ground reality of hunting and trading mechanism of pangolin which is a heart beating. I highly recommend you all to have a watch and it’s available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMx13JZ5FZU

References:

·        KC, Nishan. 2019a. Pangolin: The most trafficked mammal. Opinion, The Himalyan Times. Print edition:  Feb 20, 2019. Available at: https://thehimalayantimes.com/opinion/pangolin-the-most-trafficked-mammal/

·        KC, Nishan. 2019b. Close to the Edge: Pangolins. Trickyscribe, December 8, 2019. Available at: https://www.thetrickyscribe.com/close-to-the-edge-pangolins/

Online sources

·        Pangolins: Rare insight into world's most trafficked mammal. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47200816

·        Pangolins. The National Geographic. Available at: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/group/pangolins/#:~:text=This%20shy%20creature%2C%20as%20big,efforts%20needed%20to%20save%20them.