Cape Town – A young female pangolin has been rescued from wildlife traffickers during a sting operation.
According to the Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital, a recent SAPS operation led to the rescue of the pangolin, who has been named Malay.
“A few days ago, our team was faced with the challenging task of having to guide the emergency stabilisation of a Temminck's pangolin (Smutsia temminckii) almost 1 500km away before she could be flown up to our hospital.”
“Pangolin don’t naturally occur in Cape Town and there is only one other recorded incident of a pangolin being intercepted in the illegal trade in the Western Cape,” the hospital said.
The hospital’s specialist veterinarian had to guide the veterinarian stabilising Malay at the Cape of Good Hope SPCA through evidence collection procedures and the emergency treatment the pangolin needed.
“The next step was to get Malay up to our pangolin treatment facility (at an undisclosed off-site location) as fast as possible.
“Our heartfelt thanks go out to CemAir for sponsoring the flight, Bid Air Pet Travel for coming to the rescue with a suitable transport box, CapeNature Reserve and the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and Environment (DFFE) for the lightning-fast permit arrangements and the Cape of Good Hope SPCA for round-the-clock care and travel arrangements, all of which resulted in the safe and speedy passage of Malay to us here in Joburg and ultimately saved her life,” the hospital said.
According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), pangolins are the most trafficked mammals in the world. In China and Vietnam, pangolins are highly prized for their meat and their unique scales.
Once rescued, Malay was found to be dehydrated, emaciated and severely injured from being tied up, however, her fighting spirit kept her holding on.
A CT scan was done to assess any internal damage and it was discovered that Malay was pregnant and there were two lives at stake.
Malay is recovering and will receive more treatment before being released back into the wild.
“Malay responded well to the treatment and care from our team and after reaching some recovery milestones has been transferred to an undisclosed location under the care of Umoya Khulula Wildlife Centre and Dr Debbie English at Provet Animal Hospital for the rest of her rehabilitation journey back to the wild.
“This pangolin’s amazing rescue, recovery, and rehabilitation journey was dependent on many people and multiple organisations working together and stopping at nothing to ensure its success. It's a pangolin story to be very proud of,” the hospital said.
robin.francke@inl.co.za
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