
Today is World Pangolin Day. These scaly anteaters have become a highly-prized commodity in folk medicine, even as they have become endangered in many areas. From 2016 to 2019, over 200 tons of pangolin scales were confiscated from smuggling rings — amounting to over 360,000 pangolins being poached. These pangolins are usually destined for folk medicine markets in Asia, or bushmeat markets in central and southern Africa.