To Prague with Pangolins

Pangolins are, paradoxically, both some of the world's most obscure animals and simultaneously some of the most coveted.  The vast majority of people have never heard of them.  For those who have, it's often in their capacity as the world's most heavily trafficked mammal.  The scales of the pangolin are greatly coveted in Traditional Chinese Medicine, which has led to the decimation of populations of all species of pangolin in both Africa and Asia.  Further complicating matters has been the historically dismal record of pangolins in zoos and rehab facilities.  Even when live pangolins were rescued from traffickers, they usually died shortly after.

Photo Credit: Taipei Zoo

In recent years, tremendous strides in pangolin husbandry have been made in the United States, with several zoos forming a consortium to work towards the conservation of West Africa's white-bellied tree pangolin.  The results have been promising, with increased longevity and reproduction taking place.  All of this has raised hopes that pangolins could be bred in zoos and, at some point, be used to repopulate wild habitats.

Recently, there has been some noise across the Atlantic of pangolin populations becoming established there.  In a twist on China's famous Panda Diplomacy, Taiwan is sending some of its rare Formosan pangolins to the Prague Zoo.  This is an enormous development in the zoo world, and if a population of these animals (already accustomed to zoo life in Taiwan) can get breeding, it could enormous implications for pangolin husbandry.  Not only could pangolins become established in European AND American zoos, but our understanding of their nutrition, medicine, and behavior could greatly improve our ability to rehabilitate and rescue pangolins from the animal trade and restore them to the wild.

Prague mayor eagerly prepares for arrival of Taipei Zoo pangolins

Taiwan's bold move is motivated just as much (probably more) by politics than by conservation.  The island nation lives in the shadow of its much larger, more powerful rival, China, which refuses to acknowledge the island's status as a sovereign nation.  Distributing pangolins is meant to be but one prong of a charm offensive as Taiwan seeks to build friendships and strengthen ties across the globe. 

Will Taiwan's 'pangolin diplomacy' be a turning point or a double-edged sword?