Illicit Trafficking Decimates Pangolins in Central Africa

Illegal trafficking of pangolins to China and other Asian countries is making them highly endangered as central African countries try to extend protections for the reclusive ant-eating mammals.

Pangolins are burrowing animals with overlapping scales; conical heads; and long, sticky tongues that enable them to eat mostly ants and termites. Nocturnal and secretive, they have been difficult for scientists to study in the wild. They’ve also become the most trafficked wild mammals in the world, according to the Zoological Society of London.

The illegal trade is driven mainly by high demand for pangolin scales, which are used in ...