The pangolin and other vulnerable species
January 19, 2021, 7:38 AM IST
By Narayani Ganesh
Recent reports indicate that the pangolin, a scaly animal resembling the anteater which has been around for some 40 million years, is losing its numbers to poachers and deforestation, especially in South Africa. It is being hunted and killed for its meat, and its keratin scales that are used in Chinese medicine. The recent video splashed in the media of young boys thrashing a Gangetic dolphin to death in Uttar Pradesh is only one example of the cruelty meted out to species that are basically gentle, harmless and are part of the intricate web of life on earth.