Over 20 of the 136 live pangolins taken from smugglers last week have died in government care. Many others are in poor conditions from the way they were kept before police rescued them from animal traffickers in Prachuap Khiri Khan last Wednesday.
Customs officials said that traffickers were traveling with the animals, as well as with 450 kilograms of pangolin scales, from Malaysia to Northeastern Thailand.
The traffickers were in two pickup trucks and police detained them on a tip that they were smuggling animals.
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Pangolins are protected animals and were placed at the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation’s Wildlife Quarantine Center in Nakhon Nayok, reported Thai PBS
Veterinarian Dr. Benjarong Sangarak, who has been caring for the animals in the quarantine center, said that 20 of the animals have died, but they are continuing to try and save the lives of the others.
When the animals were brought in to the veterinary center, they were terrified. They rolled into balls, and refused to move, eat, or drink.
The vet believes this is from the abuse they suffered at the hands of their captors. When they were being trafficked, they were stuffed tightly into fertilizer bags for the long journey. The traffickers had also forced the animals to swallow flour to increase the animal’s weight and make the price higher.
The flour is not what pangolins eat and is very bad for them. They normally eat about 20 grams of ants per day. The vet center has been having problems finding enough ants for the pangolins to eat.
Dr. Benjarong admitted that the animals are so unhealthy that none of them may survive.
Pangolin are often eaten as a delicacy by Chinese and Vietnamese people while their unique scales are an ingredient in Chinese medicines.
