It was once the most common animal in the world, yet it was eaten to near extinction because of its domineering name

In today's society, many wild animals are protected species worldwide. Apart from environmental changes that have caused them to become fewer and fewer, human hunting is also an important reason for their decline. Take sharks, for example: because shark fin is delicious, they have become targets of hunting. The animal to be discussed today was once one of the most common mammals worldwide. It could be found in China, Southeast Asia and Africa, but because of its domineering name, it brought disaster upon itself and is now a globally endangered protected animal.

This animal is the pangolin. Before humans discovered the uses of the pangolin, its numbers were still plentiful, but ever since people discovered the many benefits of the pangolin, they began hunting it. In traditional Chinese thinking, the three characters for pangolin mean that it can burrow through mountains, promote lactation and resolve blood stasis, and invigorate the blood and nourish the body. People believe that both the meat and the scales of the pangolin have high medicinal value, and even today pangolin can often still be seen in some traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions. In fact, the pangolin's own abilities are not as domineering as its name suggests. It does not have the ability to "burrow through mountains"; at most it can dig a small burrow in the ground.

But just because of this domineering name, many people regard it as a tonic, and from then on the pangolin was hunted in large numbers by people. Now the pangolins of the world are nearly extinct. The pangolin was once one of the mammals found all over the world, and traces of it could be seen in many territories around the world. Depending on the regional environment in which it lives, the pangolin is also divided into many species. The one seen in China is the Chinese pangolin. This animal basically does not accept artificial domestication; captive breeding has so far never succeeded, and it can only grow in a natural environment. Therefore it is very hard to see a pangolin on the mountain again.

Releasing a pangolin

The pangolin has a hard back shell, which always makes people feel that it seems very fierce. In fact, the pangolin's temperament is very gentle. Usually, when it encounters a fierce animal, it can only rely on its own back shell to protect itself. Moreover, the pangolin itself is very honest and timid, and will not actively attack other animals. The pangolin's usual food source is termites, along with some insects and so on. It is of great significance to the ecological balance of our natural environment. Unfortunately, due to human selfishness, the pangolin has become endangered, which is truly heartbreaking.

Protecting wild animals is protecting humanity's home. Starting with myself, refusing to buy, eat or use pangolin products is the only way to let this animal live well on Earth.