They are hunted for their unique scales, and the demand makes them the most trafficked mammal in the world. Wildlife conservationists are again raising the plight of pangolins, the shy, scaly anteaters found in parts of Africa and Asia, on World Pangolin Day on Feb 21. The World Wildlife Fund estimates that over a million pangolins were taken from the wild over the last decade, including those that were never intercepted. A file picture of seized pangolin scales displayed by a Malaysian Customs official in Sepang, Selangor. All of them face either a high, very high or extremely high risk of extinction.

Source: The Star February 26, 2026 14:34 UTC