Today, an eight-month-old pangolin pup desperately needs your help. Saved from a bushmeat market in Lekki, Nigeria, after a tip-off, she was found in a truly horrendous state.
Credit: GWCI
The fragile young animal was stuffed into a filthy sack and infested with hundreds of disease-carrying ticks, which clung to every inch of her body.
With the parasites clinging to every inch of her poor body, it was the worst infestation our partner Greenfingers Wildlife Conservation Initiative (GWCI) had ever seen.
Tikki the pangolin is just a baby. Her survival hinges on specialized nutrition and expert care.
Our partner took Tikki into its care. Once every tick had been painstakingly removed from her little body, she was moved to isolation because she probably still harbors tick eggs, which could cause a disease outbreak at our partner sanctuary.
Each of the hundreds of ticks had to be carefully removed by hand.
Credit: GWCI
Tikki needs close monitoring and specialized milk formula over the next several months.
This milk formula is critical, and without it, Tikki will not survive.
Once she is fully recovered, she will be released into a protected area where she can live in her natural environment while remaining safe from poachers.
As poachers ruthlessly hunt down every pangolin in Nigeria, our partner is one of the few organizations fighting to save these endangered creatures.
Image for illustration purposes only.
Credit: WCRU/ZXZhang
Pangolins are sold on the black market and their body parts harvested for use in ‘traditional Chinese medicine’ (TCM), even though no benefits have ever been proven. Their meat is considered a delicacy in some Asian and African countries, and their skins are turned into bags and belts.
Driven by greed, pangolins are being poached to extinction.
There are few safe spaces for pangolins in Nigeria and our partner has to work tirelessly every day to save every life it can. Rescuing these fragile animals from the clutches of poachers is essential – and we can do it, but only with your support.
One life could make all the difference to the entire pangolin species.
In the past 10 years, more than a million pangolins have been poached from the wild. Of the eight species of pangolin, two are considered ‘vulnerable,’ three are endangered, and three are critically endangered – indicating that they are terrifyingly close to going extinct.
Credit: GWCI
Without dedicated conservation work – and the support of caring people like you – their species stands little chance of surviving the next decade.
Tikki may be “just one pangolin,” but with the creatures so close to extinction, every life counts. Can Tikki count on your compassion today?
