Pangolins get better protection

Most people had never even heard of pangolins, the scaly mammals that roam the wilderness of Africa and Asia looking for their favorite prey: ants and termites. But then the reclusive animals were awarded a superlative that nobody wants: pangolins are considered the most trafficked mammals in the world. Suddenly, the critters got the kind of attention usually reserved for elephants, rhinos and tigers.

Now, parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) have taken action. At the World Wildlife Conference, currently underway in Johannesburg, South Africa, member states have agreed to ban trade in all eight existing pangolin species.

"This decision will help give pangolins a fighting chance," Sue Lieberman, vice president of international policy for the Wildlife Conservation Society said in an interview. It's a chance the animals desperately need.

As obscure a species as they may seem to many Westerners, pangolins are quite familiar to many people in Africa and Asia, where they are considered a delicacy in many places and their scales are often used in traditional medicine.

Demand from China in particular has driven a dramatic increase in poaching and illegal trade of the harmless creatures. As the animals are quickly disappearing in Asia, poachers have increasingly set their sites on African varieties as well.

Conservation efforts are made even more difficult by the fact that pangolins fare poorly in captivity, with high mortality rates. Captive breeding programs have also been largely unsuccessful - which is why participants at the World Wildlife Conference also agreed to tighten regulations on any breeding operations.

But in spite of the positive signal the decision is sending, Scott Roberton of the Wildlife Conservation Society remains cautious. "The key thing now with this new listing is that countries need to implement it and enforce it,” he said in an interview.

The pangolins aren't the only species to have their protection status raised. Another notable animal is the Barbary macaque, Europe's only wild monkey and perhaps Gibraltar's most famous resident.

Aside from the tiny mountainous peninsula at the southern tip of Europe, the monkeys can be found in the Atlas mountains of Morocco and Algeria, and are heavily trafficked as illegal pets.