Greater Good Charities has been supporting conservation activities in Vietnam for a couple of years through its collaboration with top Vietnamese conservation organization, Wildlife at Risk (WAR), to aid in endangered species conservation, including trafficked pangolins. One component of these activities is a breeding program at WAR’s sanctuary in Vietnam.
Pangolins are known as one of the most trafficked species in the world and all eight species of Pangolins are endangered. Their meat is considered a delicacy in some parts of the world and their scales are believed to have medicinal value (which is unlikely….pangolin scales are actually made of keratin, which is what fingernails are made of!)
An important part of species preservation is captive breeding, which is essentially a purposeful effort to bring males and females together at zoos or wildlife sanctuaries to encourage them to mate and, hopefully, produce offspring!
And it’s working! At the WAR sanctuary in Vietnam, experts are protecting pangolins rescued from trafficking and providing them with enclosures that mimic their habitat in the wild. The sanctuary is proud that, as a result of their breeding program, they now have two young pangolins who are thriving in their care!
Breeding programs for pangolins take some time to build. Pangolins only mate once a year and only have 1-3 offspring at a time so it’s important that the program is committed to the long-term goal of keeping pangolins – moms, dads, and babies - happy and healthy!
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For endangered species in the wild and in captive breeding programs, dads play an important role in the conservation and propagation of the species!
So, here’s to Pangolin Papas and dads of all species!
Honor Your Papas by Making a Gift to Support Pangolins and Other Endangered Species
