Vietnam is a key stop on the pangolin trafficking route. Members of SVW protect pangolins on several fronts. They advise local law enforcement, who often aren’t aware of the extent of the pangolin problem, and rehabilitate animals the authorities seize from smugglers.
Not much is known about pangolins’ habits, however. Although most of SVW’s pangolins are released into the wild, pangolin researchers need to learn more so they can be confident that the pangolins will survive. That’s why SVW scientists are now tracking some of the released animals. They hope this data will help save pangolins from extinction.
“From the few pangolins that we have tracked, we have learned valuable information,” says Nguyen Cong, “but we need to do much more work in this area.”