Save the pangolins

Poaching and wildlife trafficking is running rampant to fuel the illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife products, with an estimated value of up to $23 billion annually. And one of the animals most threatened by trafficking is the pangolin.

These elusive mammals are covered in hard keratin scales, but their best natural defenses haven’t protected them from poachers: more than one million pangolins were poached over ten years, with an estimated 195,000 trafficked in 2019 for their scales alone.

Pangolins are in high demand in Asia and Africa, as well as here in the US.

Their skins are used in leather products, their meat is consumed as a delicacy in high-end restaurants in Asia and locally in Africa as bushmeat, and their scales are used in traditional medicine. Through online apps and platforms, pangolin products are sold around the world, including in the US, and demand has brought several pangolin species to the brink of extinction.

To protect pangolins, WWF and our partner Arnold Worldwide—are working to help Lin achieve his mission and save the pangolins—and we need your help.

How you can help

Pangolins are the most trafficked mammals in the world. We must act quickly to protect them, and we need your help.