A pangolin mommy who was saved by an open-eyed e-hailing driver last Saturday is doing well under the circumstances after receiving treatment from the Johannesburg Wildlife Vet.
Wendy Wilson, co-director of Joburg Wildlife Vet and their operational lead, said their patient is making progress.
“This driver did not just save a pangolin, he saved two, because the animal is pregnant,” Wilson told TimesLIVE Premium on Monday.
She said the animal is traumatised.
“When we took possession of the pangolin she was in a very weakened state. Pangolins do not eat in captivity. This one was dehydrated and injured while she was with the criminals.”
According to Wilson, the man of the match was the e-hailing driver.
“The driver picked up three passengers in Sandton who booked a ride to Pretoria. The driver noticed something moving in their suitcase and heard scratching sounds. Because of the Brics summit, there was a lot of police presence in the area and the driver saw a police roadblock in the distance. He pulled over and asked the police to check the suitcase,” Wilson said.
According to Wilson, inspector Godfrey of Sandton SPCA rushed out to assist the police.
“Inspector Godfrey called us to meet him at Bramley police station to complete the necessary paperwork and take custody of the visibly terrified pangolin. Once we had taken this pangolin to safety, she was sedated and medically examined.
“A sub-adult female pangolin, pregnant and with injuries to her two front claws — most likely from trying to escape from what she was held captive in. She also had damage to the scales on her back. Initially, in an effort to reintroduce food to her system, we tube-fed her with Virbac Nutribound.”
Since then they have been working on their patient.
“She has been walking daily for hours at a time — Temmick's pangolins do not eat in captivity — and we hope she will go from strength to strength,” Wilson said.
She would very much like to meet the “hero driver”.
“We have no idea who the driver is. This is a person who deserves praise. Pangolins are pretty much going extinct before our eyes. It would have been so easy for the driver to keep on driving and collect his money and tip in Pretoria, but he or she stuck to the principle of ‘if you see something, say something’, and now two pangolins have been saved.”
She said pangolins are in dire straits.
“Not many people know how under pressure these creatures are. SA is the most important hub in the smuggling of pangolins. Even babies are now being stolen from our wilds.”
These arrests followed on the heels of the arrest of two cross-border truckers last Friday who were caught in Germiston with a live pangolin in their possession after the Hawks were tipped off about their smuggling operation.
Stephen Maila, a senior inspector and the general manager at Sandton SPCA, confirmed the pangolin rescue to TimesLIVE Premium.
“Once we have received the vet-report from Johannesburg Wildlife Vet we will request the prosecuting authority to add more charges of cruelty to animals,” Maila told TimesLIVE Premium on Monday.
The South African police did not immediately reply to requests for comment and confirmation.
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