In September the keepers at our Wildlife Release Station were delighted to discover that resident pangolin, Lucy, had given birth! Lucy was rescued after losing a front and hind foot in a poacher’s snare. Thankfully, she has recovered and avoided being added to the statistic that over a million pangolins have been illegally traded in the last decade – resulting in them being the most trafficked mammal on earth. While Lucy has stayed under the watchful care of her keepers, she has mothered multiple pups that have since been released into the wild.
Father, Thom, was brought to the Wildlife Release Station in May after Wildlife Alliance rangers rescued him from the hands of a poacher. When ready he will be released back into a protected area of the Cardamom Rainforest. In the meantime, he is keeping a watchful eye over Lucy and their new baby.
Once the pup grows up, our keepers will prepare her for a life in the wild and will track her following her release. For now, they continue to provide ants and termite mounds from the forest to make sure the little one grows up learning how to forage. Sunda pangolins are critically endangered – the highest extinction warning given – due to their high value in the wildlife trade. Every pangolin we can release back into the wild and keep out of the hands of poachers is vital to the survival of the species. You can help us provide permanent care for Lucy and any pup she mothers be becoming a monthly sponsor.
