Pangolins are unfortunately the most trafficked mammal on the planet. As both an arboreal and ground-dwelling species, these small mammals live throughout sub-Saharan Africa as well as Southeast Asia and the Indian Subcontinent. Their distinguishing feature is an armor of overlapping scales made from keratin, and when rolled into a ball, a pangolin has an impenetrable defense from predators like lions, hyenas and leopards. Those very same scales are what have led to their decline, as the scales are used in traditional medicines in China and SE Asia. Every year, hundreds of thousands of pangolins are being poached and killed for this trade. There are simply not enough pangolins in the world to fill the demand for their scales. Pangolin sightings in the wild are becoming increasingly rare and recently a number of different organizations have taken up the fight to save pangolins. 

One of those organizations is the African Pangolin Working Group. Working primarily with the Temminck’s ground pangolin of Southern Africa, their goal is to put an end to the poaching problem in the region and restore the pangolin to its historic range. This process starts with members of the African Pangolin Working Group posing as buyers for pangolin scales. Acting as buyers, they will involve law enforcement to set up meetings with poachers, and then arrest the poachers (who face lengthy prison sentences) and confiscate the pangolins. Confiscated living pangolins are taken to a veterinary hospital where they will be nursed back to health and begin the long process of re-learning wild pangolin behavior. Once they are ready, they will then be released back into the wild where wildlife biologists will continue to track their movements. One by one, the African Pangolin Working Group is rescuing wild pangolins and discouraging poachers from continuing their trade. 

This process is very time and money intensive, and the African Pangolin Working Group need all the help they can get in their fight to save a very endearing and beautiful animal. A portion of the money from pangolin sock purchases go to support their work. You will be directly contributing to the preservation of an enigmatic and important species. 

Donate directly to African Pangolin Working Group