This little Temminck’s Pangolin called Dithlong (also known as Ditsi) had a whale of a time swimming!
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In this adorable video shared by the Manyoni Private Game Reserve we see Ditsi, a pangolin in the midst of rehabilitation, playfully enjoying her time in the water.
Law enforcement rescued Ditsi from poachers, and the Zululand Conservation Trust have stated that thankfully “at Manyoni, she is recovering well and enjoying her afternoon swims.”
Most Trafficked Mammal In The World
Ditsi has a lovely success story, but she’s only one of millions of pangolins that are victims of illegal wildlife trading. Pangolins are one of, if not the, most illegally trafficked mammals worldwide.
With habitat loss putting limits on their population, all eight species of pangolin are unfortunately classified as endangered, with some species being critically so.
Although it may look like they have long claws, these are used for digging to make their burrows, or foraging for their food which is almost exclusively ants and termites. Their primary defense against predators is to curl into a ball and trust their hard scales, which makes them relatively easy to poach.
Those scales, made from keratin, are popular in traditional medicines in African and Asian countries, and because some cultures consider their meat a delicacy they are the perfect target for illegal traders. Poachers remove their scales through boiling, and pangolins cannot regrow them.
Happiest Pangolin In The World
While the rest of her species is in peril, Ditsi’s having the time of her life in the water. Wriggling from side to side to clean all of her scales, she doesn’t have a care in the world.
The Manyoni Private Game Reserve have stated that “Ditsi the swimming pangolin, is currently being supervised by the Zululand Conservation Trust.” This trust will also be responsible for monitoring her when she is released back into the wild, but hopefully there’ll be many more safe and happy swims for her before then.
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Mysterious Mammals
Once in the wild, Ditsi will be free to behave like a normal pangolin, although there is a lack of information about what that means. Their solitary nature, nocturnal lifestyle and evasive habits make them difficult to monitor.
Researchers can’t even be certain about how many pangolins exist in the wild, but numbers are known to be on the decline. Their main predators are humans, leopards and hyenas, with humans being the most dangerous by far.
While many seek them out for their meat, pangolins themselves are particularly fussy eaters. Limiting their diet to ants and termites, they won’t always eat the first of these they come across, but will often look for specific species to scoop up with their long and sticky tongue.
Conservation Challenges
Ditsi is lucky to have been found and rehabilitated ready for release into the wild, but many others don’t have that good fortune. Illegal trade of pangolins is at its worst in Asia where populations have dropped faster.
As Asian pangolins get harder to find, poaching in Africa has increased, with new routes for trafficking being opened as old ones are closed.