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International Symposium on Pangolin Care and Conservation, much space they need, and how well they can survive in disturbed
where pangolin experts and researchers from around the world habitats,” Zeigler said. “When it comes to trying to save this
gathered together to share their knowledge and plans for animal, we first need to get these kinds of answers.”
protecting these special creatures.
He reached out to colleagues across the country in attempt
While there is still a long way to go when it comes to saving to create a network of organizations dedicated to this cause.
the world’s most poached animal, today, there is hope. And it all Five other zoos—Memphis Zoo, Columbus Zoo and Aquarium,
started with the Society. Gladys Porter Zoo, Essex County Turtle Back Zoo, and Pittsburgh
In 2014, Bill Zeigler, the Society’s Senior Vice President of Animal Zoo & PPG Aquarium—along with a nonprofit organization,
Programs, proposed bringing about four dozen white-bellied tree Pangolin Conservation, agreed to partner up to help save
pangolins from their native Togo, a small country in west Africa, pangolins. All together, these organizations are officially known
to accredited U.S. institutions. as the Pangolin Consortium.
Zeigler was well aware of the threats to all eight species of “In order to do this right, we needed a large enough pangolin
pangolin—over the past 10 years, more than a million have been population here in the U.S. to represent as much genetic diversity
poached from the wild for food in the illegal bushmeat trade, for as is in the wild population and to have the best demographic
their use in Asian medicines (despite having no actual medicinal population possible—in other words, the right combination of
value), and for their scales, which are made into jewelry. ages and represented sexes,” Zeigler said. “We couldn’t do that
with just a few animals, and we can only house so many pangolins
He realized that to combat these threats and to help increase at Brookfield Zoo. Having a consortium of partners is key to the
wild pangolin populations, it was necessary to learn more about success of the program.”
these animals, as very little research had been done on them at
the time. Not everyone was supportive of the Society’s plan. Critics
argued that pangolins should not be removed from the wild, as
“There is so much that is unknown about the pangolin—the this would further reduce their populations. However, the
intricacies of their social dynamics, how they reproduce, how pangolins weren’t taken from their native habitat in a way that
could promote illegal trade: they came from individual farmers
AFRICA who had captured these animals on their land and were simply
planning to use them as food.
Togo
Further criticism stemmed from the fact that pangolins are
ATLANTIC prone to stress and in the past, many have not survived
OCEAN transportation. However, the Consortium had an on-the-ground
person in Togo, who spent months preparing these animals for
0 1000 Miles Four species of pangolin are native to Africa, including transportation—deworming them, introducing them to a new diet,
0 1000 Km the white-bellied tree pangolin, which is found in Togo. and figuring out the best ways to keep them hydrated. Only the
animals who adjusted well were transported to the U.S., and so
when the first shipment was transported in April 2016, all animals
arrived in good health.
And now that they’re here in U.S. institutions, the amount of
information that can come from the 40 pangolins could have the
ability to save thousands.
In addition to conducting research that will lead to answers to
a whole host of questions, the Consortium also is heavily focused
on educating the general public about the plight of the pangolin.
The six zoos that house pangolins have a combined seven million
visitors each year—these are seven million people who potentially
can be exposed to the pangolins’ story and be moved to help.
Despite the initial criticism, in the past few years, the
Consortium has begun to gain recognition by conservation
organizations, including the International Union for Conservation
of Nature's Pangolin Specialist Group.
28 GATEWAYS | PANGOLINS
