New documentary shines light on plight of pangolins, one of the world’s most trafficked mamals

Native to Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, pangolins are the only mammals covered in scales.

Pangolins are also one of the world’s most trafficked mammals, prized for their meat and scales, which are used in traditional medicine. Poaching and deforestation of their natural habitats have drastically reduced their population and several pangolin species are now listed as threatened or endangered.

Now a new Netflix documentary is bringing long-overdue attention to the creatures. ‘Pangolin : Kulu’s Journey’ follows a baby pangolin as he ventures back to the wild after being rescued from poachers.

Meanwhile, visitors to Chichago’s Brookfield Zoo have the rare chance to see a pangolin up close, the only place in the United States where they can do so. Housed at the Zoo’s Habitat Africa, the pangolins live in the Forest area and are listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.