Distressed pangolin rescued from poachers

A pangolin’s life is hanging by a thread after she was rescued from the claws of six poachers in a bust last week in Kyalami.

The pangolin, known as Kya, was rescued in a sting operation at Kyalami Corner where six suspects were arrested.

The suspects will soon make their second appearance in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court for their formal bail applications.

Kya was the fourth pangolin to be rescued this year. The first bust happened in Kempton Park at the beginning of the year and the other two in the Northern Cape – one in Upington and the other in Kimberley.

“Kya is not doing well,” said Nicci Wright, a wildlife specialist at the Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital.

Wright also works hand-in-hand with Prof Ray Jansen, founder of Pangolin Africa, where she sits on the board as the executive director and as the public manager of Humane Society International – Africa.

The distressed pangolin is under the watchful eye of Wright, along with Dr Kalsey Shinner and Dr Karin Louwrens and veterinary nurse Alicha Abbott.

“She is receiving antibiotic treatment for the wounds and infection,” Wright said.

Wright said when Kya was admitted to the hospital, they noticed she had a bad wound where one of her scales were missing, presumably from being removed by the poachers.

“If the scale was pulled, it is the equivalent of having a nail pulled,” she said.

Wright said Kya is also on oxygen due to her reduced lung capacity from being in captivity for a long period.

Besides the pain from the scale removed, Kya has also developed an infection so is mostly in a sedative state. Wright said every poached pangolin is compromised during the ordeal.

“They suffer from severe stress and trauma,” said Wright, adding Kya is still underweight by at least a kilogram, if not more. Since the hospital opened four years ago, 155 pangolins have been treated there.

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