Lorraine Kelly has embarked on an adventure to Namibia where she come across one of the most endangered animals in the world, the pangolin.
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A lover of animals, the TV personality used her platform to raise awareness about pangolins being the most trafficked mammal in the world. "It's absolutely heartbreaking," she said.
Read more in her column here...
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I never thought I would come face to face with one of the shyest and most endangered animals in the world, but an adventure in Namibia meant I got really close to a pangolin, a fabulous little guy who looks as though he has been toddling about the earth since prehistoric times.
Pangolins are a bit like an artichoke crossed with a dinosaur all mixed up with a pinch of an alien life form from "Star Trek". We don't really know all that much about them, which is why the work being done by the Africat Foundation in Okonjima I visited is so vital. They are passionate about conservationism through education and carry out outstanding research work.
The pangolin I met is the pride and joy of Africat and Okonjima. He is named TREX and lives in the wild, free to wander wherever he wants, but he has an electronic tag and his very own adoring "nannies" to keep him safe from poachers day and night. DRAX is no ordinary pangolin.
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He is bolder than most and even loves going out during the day, and he doesn’t mind having his photo taken as long as you don’t get too close, or are in the way of him foraging for ants. I kept my distance and happily watched him digging for ants and licking them up with a pink tongue as long as his body.
Sadly, pangolins are the most trafficked mammal in the world. It's estimated well over a million have been victims of poachers in the past decade. They are captured alive, crammed into containers and shipped to Vietnam and China where they are killed and eaten, and their scales used in Chinese medicine.
Lorraine Kelly has embarked on an adventure to Namibia
It's absolutely heartbreaking. Just like rhino horn, their scales are made of keratin, the same stuff as our fingernails, and obviously this has no healing properties whatsoever. It's infuriating.
We can only hope that young people in these countries realise how cruel and pointless it is to kill such a harmless, vulnerable animal. Otherwise, despite the heroic efforts of the team at Africat and other conservationist around the world, the pangolins simply wont make it. I am just so very lucky to have met little TREX, a symbol of hope for all his brothers and sisters.
To find out how you can help save the pangolin and discover more about the work of AFRICAT. Contact. info@africat.org or go on instagram @africat_foundation Lorraine
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