Trafficked pangolin dies

A pangolin rescued by police from a black market deal has died while in a veterinary hospital in Johannesburg.

The scaled creature‚ named Maritz after Pietermaritzburg where he was rescued last Tuesday‚ had clung to life for several days after being trafficked in a dusty backpack in a journey spanning over 1000 km.

He was secretly ferried by taxi from where he had been snatched‚ somewhere in Zimbabwe‚ to the parking lot of a mall.

Nicci Wright‚ of the African Pangolin Working Group‚ told TimesLIVE that Maritz was “unable to struggle anymore”.

“We worked really hard with him‚ on a drip monitoring him around the clock‚ doing all the normal checks. He crashed twice and we brought him back and then a little while ago he just couldn't struggle anymore‚” she said.

“[This is] heartbreaking‚ we're devastated. It brings an understanding of the horror of the trade and what suffering these delightful creatures endure‚” Wright added.

Syndicates running the trade in pangolins‚ the most trafficked mammals in the world‚ are driven by an insatiable demand for traditional medicine in Asia. The species is mainly found in Africa and Asia.

Wright said it was a consolation that most evenings Maritz was walked in the veld and he fed really well.

“He really enjoyed being out. This trade is really awful and who knows how many die out there?”

Wright is also a representative of the Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital and HSI-Africa.