This animal with more than 200 houses and 450 acres of forest is being eaten to extinction.

Speaking of pangolins,

Most of you will think of him in Journey to the East:

Or it's in "Huluwa":

Actually

Real pangolins look like this.

As a burrowing animal of Lepidoptera

Pangolins have been trained since childhood.

He has an amazing ability to dig holes and dig holes.

Research shows that

Each pangolin may have 200 hideouts.

Live in different places every day

It is simply the "emperor" of the cave world!

The three grottoes of the cunning rabbit are so weak.

However, drilling is only one of the skills of pangolins.

In the animal kingdom, it can be regarded as an "omnipotent master"

Tree climbing, launching, attack, defense, omnipotence.

It's really good.

It's the brown horny scales.

That's where its name comes from.

These scales are very much like the armor of ancient soldiers.

It's harder than the armor.

It is said that small-caliber rifles are difficult to penetrate.

So, when pangolins are in danger,

Immediately turn yourself into a "ball"

Sharp-toothed predators can't do it either.

There is no way to take pangolins with sharp teeth and claws.

The lion met it.

There can only be no love on the face of life:

It can also "turn defense into attack".

When it comes to large predators

Pangolins control their muscles.

Let the scales cut.

Cut the enemy's mouth.

Soft and cute heart, gentle and shy

Although it has the hard appearance of a soldier

But its heart is gentle and shy.

It has small eyes and poor eyesight.

During the day, usually hidden in underground caves or tree holes

Occasionally appear in the tree.

Of course, I was asleep most of the time.

Only go out at night.

Rely on a keen sense of smell to find food.

Pangolin is usually a loner.

Only during the mating season.

Look for another "right A".

Because of their small number, it is difficult to find their own kind.

So, for pangolins,

It's so rare to meet the right him / her.

Finally met the pangolin of the opposite sex

Lock your eyes and finish mating.

You can only have one baby at a time.

For the hard-won baby

They are very precious.

Baby can't walk, so carry the baby on your back.

The pangolin is gentle in nature.

Claws have no lethality and are only suitable for digging holes.

There are not even teeth in the mouth.

You can only get food with a long tongue.

The moment he was caught, he was already "dead".

What does it feel like when the body is poured into cement?

This is not part of a gangster movie.

It's what really happened to the pangolin.

There is a documentary called "looking for scales".

In 16 minutes,

To show the world

The "tip of the iceberg" of pangolin underground trading.

Just this corner.

It's enough to scare people.

In the documentary

As an informant,

Wildlife conservationists Ning Zhijie and Yiyun

Help the police catch poaching criminals.

They learned during the undercover visit

In order to gain more benefits, criminals

Pangolins are often filled with cement or water.

To increase its weight by several jin.

Pangolin pangolins filled with mud are prone to organ failure.

Even if rescued

Their chances of survival are also very low.

It can be said

The moment these pangolins were caught,

Has been "sentenced to death".

In the documentary, the two pangolins rescued

I can't walk on my own anymore.

Pangolin is a second-class protected animal in the country.

According to the provisions of our criminal law

Illegally hunting and killing those specially protected by the state

Precious and endangered wild animals

Or illegally acquire, transport or sell.

Specially protected by the state

Rare and endangered wild animals and their products

Will be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment or criminal detention

And impose a fine.

If the circumstances are especially serious, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than ten years.

And impose a fine or confiscation of property.

Faced with such a severe legal punishment

Who gave criminals so much courage?

All this stems from inexplicable human cognition and needs.

Pangolins are good at making holes.

Many people think that it has the wonderful function of relaxing meridians and activating collaterals.

You can also "milk".

Therefore, people with the above needs

Even if you can't get pangolin meat,

We should also make some pangolin scales to grind powder to take.

In some areas of southern China

Some people are superstitious in the belief that eating wild animals can be a great help.

Others, in order to show off, "the more endangered they are, the more they eat."

As a result, pangolins degenerated into midday food.

With these needs,

Criminals in order to make money

At the risk of desperation.

In addition to being hunted.

A drastic change in the living environment

It has also caused a sharp decline in the number of pangolins.

Pangolins like to live in hilly areas.

Broad-leaved and coniferous broad-leaved mixed forest belt

It has a single diet and has poor adaptability to environmental changes.

Once the habitat is destroyed,

The number of its population will decline rapidly.

Due to special habits

Pangolins cannot be raised in captivity.

Artificial reproduction has not been successful so far.

China's pangolin resources are close to exhaustion.

The criminals set their sights on abroad again.

Our country consumes about 300000 pangolins every year.

There may be more in recent years.

More than 95% of them are from abroad.

You know,

These pangolins from abroad are illegal.

For the seized live pangolins in China,

Usually adopt the strategy of release.

But in recent years, pangolins smuggled into the country

Mostly Southeast Asian and even African species.

Release without strict species identification

The resulting genetic pollution

Is just as serious a threat.

Genetic properties of Chinese pangolin.

According to endangered species of wild animals and plants

International Trade Convention data

In the past 21 years,

The number of pangolins in China has dropped by 90%.

Dr. Zeng Yan, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

The information provided is more pessimistic

"from 1960s to 2004

The number of Chinese pangolins in China

Decreased by 89% to 94%. "

A survey in 2008 showed that

The number of pangolins in China

"somewhere between 25100 and 49450."

As early as 2014

The pangolin was made by the World Union for Conservation of Nature.

As a "critically endangered" animal.

How serious is the situation?

In 2016, giant pandas have been downgraded to vulnerable.

Pangolins face a greater threat than giant pandas!

Pangolin

Does it really have those magical effects?

In fact, pangolin meat has no medicinal value at all.

According to the Compendium of Materia Medica

Pangolin meat is poisonous.

The scales of pangolin do have medicinal value.

It has a long history of being used in medicine in our country.

In the Song Dynasty, it was recorded that it could be used in gynecological treatment.

It is important to note that

Its scope of use is very narrow:

In traditional Chinese medicine

Pangolin scales are only used to treat milk obstruction.

And it's easy to find a replacement.

Institute of Ecology, School of Life Sciences, Beijing normal University

Director Zhang Dayong said:

Some preliminary clinical trials have proved

Pig toenails and pangolin tablets in some medical effects

There was no significant difference.

Pangolin carries a lot of parasites and viruses.

There is a great risk for people to eat pangolins.

Some police revealed that

In order to facilitate transportation, have a good "selling appearance"

Smugglers sedate pangolins.

If it's a dead pangolin,

It will be treated with preservative to prevent it from rotting.

To make more money.

They also feed pangolins with heavy metal.

Such a pangolin with "four poisons"

Do you dare to eat?

The number of pangolins has dropped sharply.

Mankind has tasted the bitter fruit.

At present, the forest in China is moving towards artificial purified forest.

Termites are more likely to spread here.

Without the pangolin,

What people can rely on.

It can only be highly toxic pesticides.

Source: lookout think tank (ID:zhczyj)

Producer: Liu Hong, Chen Yichun

Editor: Wang Shuai

Proofreading: Cai Mengxiao

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