The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has added the pangolin to the list of "critically endangered" species.
Pangolins, often called "scaly anteaters," are covered in sturdy, overlapping scales. They usually feed on ants and termites using their long, sticky tongues, and roll up into a tight ball when threatened. Illegal hunting and poaching have made these creatures one of the most endangered species in the world.
In efforts to preserve the pangolin population, the IUCN officially added eight species - four from Asia and four from Africa - on the Red List of Threatened Species.
"All eight pangolin species are now listed as threatened with extinction, largely because they are being illegally traded to China and Vietnam," said Jonathan Baillie, co-chair of the pangolin specialist group for the IUCN's Species Survival Commission and conservation programs director at the Zoological Society of London. "In the 21st Century we really should not be eating species to extinction - there is simply no excuse for allowing this illegal trade to continue."
The Species Survival Commission (SSC) Pangolin Specialist Group warned that pangolins are now the most illegally traded mammal in the world, especially in Asia. The meat of this mammal is considered a luxury food across the East, while the Chinese use its scales for medical purposes.
Scientists and conservationists are now preparing an action plan to protect the rare pangolins from illegal trade in Asia and Africa. The pangolin population in Asia has reached such low numbers that traders are moving on, setting their sights toward Africa. Conservation groups have called on the nations' respective governments to reinforce the commercial trade ban in their regions.
"Our global strategy to halt the decline of the world's pangolins needs to be urgently implemented. A vital first step is for the Chinese and Vietnamese governments to conduct an inventory of their pangolin scale stocks and make this publically available to prove that wild-caught pangolins are no longer supplying the commercial trade," said Dan Challender, co-Chair of the IUCN SSC Pangolin Specialist Group.
