Pangolins: The Most Trafficked Animals On Earth Now Critically Endangered

If you're wondering what the most trafficked animals are in the world, no, they are not tigers or elephants - they are pangolins: scaly, cat-sized animals that are now threatened with extinction due to illegal trafficking in Asia and Africa.

According to National Geographic, the body that regulates international wildlife trade finally voted to shut down sales of these animals - in whole or in parts. Chris Shepherd, the Southeast Asia regional director of wildlife reade monitoring group Traffic said, "This is really, really great news. It's black and white now - any pangolins in international trade are illegal."

In the meeting with the Convention on International Trade in endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITIES), the discussion to ban trade in all eight species of Asian and African pangolins ranked high on the agenda. These scaly animals, despite their looks, are actually said to be shy and harmless, with long, sticky tongues to slurp up their diet of ants and termites. When threatened, they curl up in a ball instead of escape, which makes them quite easy to catch for those collecting them.

The trade ban does not guarantee pangolin safety, though. As The New York Times pointed out, enforcement of conservation acts still lack in many countries, and it won't necessarily stop poachers from hunting them: over one million pangolins have already been illegally traded since 2000, mostly for their meat, as they are considered a delicacy in Asian countries. Their scales, meanwhile, are also said to be used in Chinese medicine.

Several countries sponsored the ban, including India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Vietnam, Nigeria and Senegal, with help from co-sponsoring countries like the United States, which put forward proposals to increase protection of the pangolin species.