by On February 17th, the World Pangolin Day, a curious mammal that is very popular in China – due to its illegal purchase – and that was related during the pandemic to the spread of the Coronavirus.
Millions of pangolins are stolen from their natural habitat for traditional medicine in Asia and Africa due to their traditional beliefs, the mammal being already with more illegal traffic of the planet. Currently, there are eight species of pangolin, four Asian and four African, in danger of extinction in the 51 countries where they live, according to the World Society for the Protection of Animals. sons only mammals with scales.
In China, this animal is considered a delicacy, so they can reach pay up to 300 dollars per kilo on the black market. Chinese researchers stated at the time that this animal, common in theto hunting and illegal trafficking for their meat and scales, could be one of the reasons for the outbreak of Covid-19. It is an animal mainly nocturnaland they live in tree holes or burrows.
The main characteristic of this animal are the scales, very similar to those of fish and reptiles, from the head, the entire back and the tail, which serve to protect yourself from other animals (and humans) rolling up and forming a ball. The keratin of its scales It is very useful for traditional medicine, which is why the Chinese population pays more than 900 euros for this mammal.
