A template for global conservation

The pangolin is a rather shy animal and you can only see a tail here, but this lucky one has been saved from traffickers and is now rehabilitating in Malawi’s Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve. Pangolin are the only mammals wholly-covered in scales, which they use to protect themselves from predators in the wild. If under threat, a pangolin will immediately curl into a tight ball and use their sharp-scaled tails to defend themselves. Unfortunately, it is this armour that poachers desire; pangolin scales are used in traditional Chinese medicine. Though Pangolin are protected under national and international law there is still a growing international illegal trade so every pangolin saved is a victory.