World Pangolin Day

We're calling all Pangolin Protectors! Let's fight for the pangolins!

In preparation for World Pangolin Day on the 18th of February, we wanted to raise awareness for these incredibly gentle scaly creatures. 💛

Better yet, we're even going to share some of the outstanding conservation work your Pangolin socks helped achieve with the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation!

Want to save even more safari animals? Check them out here! 🧦 🐾

First, the important stuff. 

How endangered are pangolins? 🤔

Well, there are eight species in total: four in Asia and four in Africa. All Asian species are either endangered or critically endangered. Meanwhile, the African species are vulnerable.

Why are they endangered? 🧐

It's unfortunately quite simple: global harvesting of Pangolins. They are the most trafficked mammal in the world. According to the IUCN SSC Pangolin Specialist Group, a pangolin is snatched every 5 minutes, with an estimated one million+ pangolins lost to trafficking in the last ten years.

Why are pangolins trafficked? (trigger warning!) 😨

Many body parts are in high demand for various purposes: fashion, traditional medicine and cooking.

Traffickers target pangolins for their scales, blood, skin, and even fetuses. In medicine, the Yorubic Tribe in Nigeria prescribes pangolin bones for stroke, back pain, rheumatism and even mental illness treatments. Meanwhile, in China, some traditional medical treatment involves using pangolin scales for various troubles, including asthma, cancer, and blood circulation.

But... why do we care about pangolins? 💛

From an ecosystem standpoint, pangolins are vital in pest control. 

• they have an extraordinarily long and sticky tongue used for eating ants and termites
• they keep the land naturally aerated, fertile, healthy and tender. Perfect for agriculture! 🌱

Pangolin Fun Facts! 😮 

• Their tough keratin scales overlap and cover their entire body. They're the only truly scaly creature on the planet! 
• Pangolins curl into a tight ball when they feel threatened
• The edges of their scales are routinely filed down as pangolins dig and tunnel through the soil in search of food 🐜

• Instead, sparse fur covers their belly (P.S. Black-bellied pangolins are great climbers)! 
• They have small conical heads... 
• But their jaws don't have teeth! Who needs them when your delicious diet includes ants and termites? 🦷

So, how have YOUR pangolin socks helped? 🧦

Your beautifully humble save the pangolin bamboo socks donated 10% of the profits to the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (DSFW). Since we launched our pangolin bamboo socks, DSFW also began various education and awareness programs in Africa and Asia! 

Here's a summary before we dive into the details! 

🎉 13 Kenyan ambassadors were recruited to educate local communities and reduce pangolin poaching 
🎉 The Pangolin Project in Kenya invests in researching and protecting pangolins by training rangers
🎉 The Environmental Investigation Agency arrested several poachers in West and Central Africa
🎉 2 Vietnamese campaigns raised awareness to reduce the demand for wildlife consumption! 

Let's dive right in! 

13 Ambassadors for Education in Kenya

The Pangolin Project's community-based ambassador programme recruited 13 locals to teach communities about pangolins! 👩‍🏫 They aim to record sightings of these fascinating and nocturnal creatures because the population number is unknown. ❓

The Pangolin Project work primarily in the Greater Mara Ecosystem, and they help deliver the message that these animals are not to be feared or loathed (or cruelly treated as mere commodities). Pangolins do not harm humans, nor are they interested in eating (or damaging!) the local crops. 💛

Ranger Training

This same Pangolin Project in Kenya has invested resources into intelligence and protection teams 🧐. Both education and investigation projects have been crucial in safeguarding whatever remains of the pangolin population. 

Tackling illegal trade in West and Central Africa

The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) continues to gather intel on trafficking activities in West and Central Africa. With the support of the DSWF, multiple leads have been acquired, which led to several arrests. These were made possible by thoroughly investigating the methods traffickers use to smuggle pangolin scales. One by one, slowly but surely, we're successfully reducing the resources traffickers have available! 🙏

Reaching 6 million Vietnamese

WildAid, backed by DSWF, utilised the Chinese campaign, 'Don't be a Villain to Wildlife', which featured worldwide famous martial artist and actor Jacki Chan, to raise awareness in Vietnam 🥋. Their campaign named 'NotSo Breaking News' highlighted the alarming rate at which pangolins were poached and consumed. It reached 6 million people who had rarely heard of pangolins and their threats of extinction. We are optimistic about continuing to raise awareness! 🥰

'Guardians of the Wild' Campaign to reduce wildlife consumption

DSWF helped fund the Vietnamese 'Guardians of the Wild' Campaign aiming to reduce the global demand for wildlife consumption. As such, we reached a whopping 3.3 million people in Vietnam! The campaign also informed the public of the Asian Pangolin's endangerment and their vital role in ensuring a healthy ecosystem. When the buying stops, the killing can too. 💛

Here's how you can save even more safari animals

Bare Kind's African Safari Ultimate Bamboo Socks Set saves 7 animals across 3 continents! 🧦🎉🐾

Featuring bamboo socks that save the lions, rhinos, leopards, flamingos, elephants, pangolins and giraffes, this is a beautiful gift set for any safari lover! 

The charities we donate to in this set are: 

• the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation (lion socks, elephant socks, pangolin socks)
• Helping Rhinos (rhino socks)
• The Rainforest Trust UK (leopard socks)
• Wild & Wetland Trust (flamingo socks)
• the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (giraffe socks)

We hope you learnt a lot this World Pangolin Day and look forward to seeing you again soon! 

Gift African Safari Ultimate Bamboo Socks Set now!