Poachers Demand Ransom for Kidnapped Pangolin

Poachers in Democratic Republic of Congo have reached a new low in perfidy – they’ve taken an endangered pangolin from the Virunga National Park hostage and are demanding a ransom.

“This is something new and alarming,” Adams Cassinga, founder of Conserv Congo, told MSN. “If we pay them, then we are doomed, the whole park and all the apes would be taken hostage.”

Cassinga’s comments came after “proof of life” photographs of the prized animal were sent to local conservationists. Conserv Congo was contacted last week with the demand to “‘Pay us and we hand it over for release, if not we will do what we want,’” according to Cassinga. The Nduma Defence of Congo, one of many gangs operating in or near the park, is believed to be responsible.

The pangolin is the world’s only scaled mammal. The solitary, mainly nocturnal creature looks like a cross between an armadillo and an anteater (and in fact often enjoys a nice meal of ants). The pangolin defense mechanism is to roll up completely into a ball when threatened, and lash out with the sharp scales on its tail if need be.

Called the “most trafficked mammal in the world” by the World Wildlife Fund, over a million pangolins were poached in the last decade for their meat and scales. Hundreds of thousands are trafficked every year, most ending up in China or Vietnam. Hucksters grind up the scales into potions for gullible customers with lactation issues and rheumatism.

All eight species of pangolin in the world are threatened, their statuses range from “Vulnerable” to “Critically Endangered” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List.

“They are testing the market,” Cassinga added, noting that the poachers had not specified a ransom amount.

Here’s hoping the next poacher gets a fatal lashing.

Photo credit: IUCN