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The Chicago Zoological Society
is leading the charge in efforts

to save the world's most
poached animal.

ive years ago, there weren't any pangolins in
U.S. zoos accredited by the Association of
Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). These "scaly
anteaters" were being poached at an alarming rate—
an estimated 10,000 per year—but despite their
status as the world’s most illegally trafficked animal,
little was known among animal care specialists about
how to care for these creatures, and no official large-
scale program within the accredited zoo community
was in place to help save these animals.
Today, 40 white-bellied tree pangolins are thriving
in six U.S. zoos (with 12 of them here at Brookfield
Zoo), and each day, veterinarians, animal care staff,
and researchers are learning more and more about
these scale-covered mammals. And this past August,
the Chicago Zoological Society hosted the first-ever

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