Aug 3, 2022
A rescued Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla)
Pangolins are threatened by poaching for their meat and scales, which are used in traditional Chinese medicine, and by heavy deforestation of their natural habitats; they are the most trafficked mammals in the world. A series of conservation efforts are under way to save the last remaining wild populations in China. Poaching and trade make it easier for unknown viruses to infect humans, from bats through intermediate hosts such as pangolins.
Photograph: Dong Lei/Naturepl.com/LDY Agency
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