The fight to save ‘adorably odd' mammal from edge of extinction
The US Fish and Wildlife Service is looking to include four Asian species – the Chinese, Indian, Sunda, and Philippine pangolins – and three African species: the white-bellied, black-bellied, and giant pangolins, under the act.
According to the Center for Biological Diversity, seven pangolin species are nearing extinction. The World Wildlife Fund has reported that pangolins are heavily trafficked, largely because of demand for their scales in traditional Chinese medicine, as well as for their meat.
The Temminck's ground pangolin, another African species, is already protected under the law. Scientists believe that there may be two additional pangolin species yet to be recognised.
The Endangered Species Act, signed into law in 1973 with bipartisan backing, is vital for preserving global biodiversity and preventing the extinction of iconic species. It currently protects over 2,000 species.
Conservation and environmental groups say habitat loss from climate change is just one reason the act is especially critical today.
The endangerment listing, once finalised, would help strengthen trade and import restrictions of pangolin parts in the US, except in the case of scientific or other conservation purposes, according to the Center.
It is illegal to trade them; the pangolin received certain commercial trade protections under the 2017 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
But tons of poached scales representing thousands of pangolin have been found by authorities around the world in recent years.
'I'm delighted the United States is doing its part to save these adorably odd creatures,' Sarah Uhlemann, international program director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement.
' Pangolins are on the razor's edge of extinction, and we need to completely shut down any US market for their scales. There's no good reason for anybody to ingest any part of a pangolin.'
The pangolin eats insects and rolls into a ball when threatened by predators. The Fish and Wildlife Service said pangolin populations have declined due to targeting by poachers and criminal activity, noting 'proceeds from the illicit sale of pangolins and other imperiled species often fund serious crimes, including drug and arms trafficking.'
While the act requires endangered species listing regardless of their origin, the designation could also assist in prosecuting smugglers violating the protections.
Advocates, including from the International Fund for Animal Welfare and other national and international groups, have for years petitioned to list the pangolin. In 2020, these organisations and the Fish and Wildlife Service signed an agreement to enforce listing deadlines.
Polar bears, as well as penguins — similarly not found in the US — have also been in discussions for listing over the years.
Monday's move comes despite President Donald Trump's efforts to weaken the act, aligning with ongoing conservative criticism that it stifles economic growth. Trump's executive order declaring an 'energy emergency' in the US says the act can't stand in the way of energy development, signaling that protections could be rolled back.
The Trump administration already plans to cut habitat protections for endangered and threatened species, in an effort to redefine the long-standing meaning of what constitutes 'harm."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
5 hours ago
- The Guardian
My children were abused in care. The silence that followed was suffocating
The moment I discovered both of my children had been sexually abused by our babysitter's partner, I was hollowed out by the greatest sorrow I'd ever known. They were aged four and two. A stain bloomed backwards through time, through all the moments that once felt delightful and perfect: fat little hands catching the light, unsteady feet in tiny sneakers, sleeping faces. All those times I kissed their soft cheeks goodbye. Time collapsed in on itself. There was no before and after – just an after that swallowed everything. As their stories unfurled, in the aftermath of reporting them, I held my children with all the strength and protective love a mother can muster. I reassured them always: We believe you. This is not your fault. I am so sorry I wasn't there. Years later, they carry no shame, and their childhood brims with joy. I am one parent among countless parents affected by child sexual abuse. As the silent guardian of my children's stories, as their fierce advocate, I am bound to protect their privacy. Their stories belong to them. There are countless voiceless parents like me, siloed in trying to simultaneously support their children's healing while quietly reassembling their shattered selves. For so many other kinds of traumas and sorrows we have a shared language, grief and ritual. We know secrets are corrosive, that healing deepens when we share our experience with others. Communal care is vital for our wellbeing. We know, too, especially as women, the power of refusing to stay silent. But what happens when these stories belong to our children? I was lucky to have the love of close friends, family and professional support, but most people in my world had no idea – and still have no idea – of our family's quiet devastation. Living in a close-knit small community, I struggled to contain this seismic rupture during early motherhood. In the midst of playdates, trips to the park and music classes, the 'how are yous?' were answered with chirpy falsities – I was suffocating under an unrelenting shame and guilt, wrenched with fury and sorrow. The ongoing senseless injustice. Aching sadness. I blamed myself entirely. Traumatic stress held me in its vice for months. The reminders were everywhere, unbidden memories surfacing. One Christmas, a man dressed as Santa visited our local gathering place. The children swarmed around him and I was overcome by an internal, shrieking anguish. Those big, big hands and all the small, trusting hands. I wept uncontrollably in the car park. I felt haunted, and desperately lonely. I thought of all the other parents – and think of them still. It has now been six years. The grief ebbs and flows. I now know the shame and guilt doesn't belong to me. I have learned ways to manage the inner chaos of post-traumatic stress. I delight in my wonderful children's strength, humour and curiosity. As an advocate to end child sexual abuse, I stand in solidarity with those seeking to address a legal system that continues to fail children. 'Children do not and cannot lie about such things' is what we know and what we hear, over and over. This truth was validated for my children by the highest sexual assault recognition payout from Victims Services. Yet when children need to locate a date and time in their testimony, with no witnesses, no forensic evidence or a confession, it is nigh impossible for a perpetrator to be arrested – let alone convicted. My children's disclosures tumbled out over months and years; words upon words of irrefutable evidence. I believe my children were able to tell me their stories because of all of our early conversations about bodily autonomy and not keeping secrets. Ongoing protective education programs are integral, and there needs to be more awareness of ill-founded, damaging stereotypes: there is no evidence to suggest that children who experience abuse will then go on to offend as adults. It is crucial we implement early-intervention measures for those at risk of harming children. Child sexual abuse is endemic: it happens in our communities, our homes, with people we often know and trust. Their actions are monstrous, but if we continue to deem them inhuman monsters, we are failing to address the problem where it begins: in ordinary places. These are difficult, complex, but necessary aspects of our ongoing national efforts to protect children. The effects of sexual abuse ricochet in so many directions. More trauma support is needed for those of us standing in its shadows: both families of abused children, and the devastated families of those who abuse. All trying to quietly support their children and rebuild their lives. In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, and adult survivors can contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Adults who are concerned about their own or someone else's sexual thoughts or behaviour towards children can contact Stop It Now! Australia on 1800 01 1800. In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International
BBC News
7 hours ago
- BBC News
Sudan war: Children dying of hunger in Darfur's el-Fasher city
The women at the community kitchen in the besieged Sudanese city of el-Fasher are sitting in huddles of desperation."Our children are dying before our eyes," one of them tells the BBC. "We don't know what to do. They are innocent. They have nothing to do with the army or [its paramilitary rival] the Rapid Support Forces. Our suffering is worse than what you can imagine."Food is so scarce in el-Fasher that prices have soared to the point where money that used to cover a week's worth of meals can now buy only one. International aid organisations have condemned the "calculated use of starvation as a weapon of war".The BBC has obtained rare footage of people still trapped in the city, sent to us by a local activist and filmed by a freelance Sudanese army has been battling the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for more than two years after their commanders jointly staged a coup, and then fell in the western Darfur region, is one of the most brutal frontlines in the conflict. The hunger crisis is compounded by a surge of cholera sweeping through the squalid camps of those displaced by the fighting, which escalated this week into one of the most intense RSF attacks on the city paramilitaries tightened their 14-month blockade after losing control of the capital Khartoum earlier this year, and stepped up their battle for el-Fasher, the last foothold of the armed forces in the north and centre of the country where the army has wrestled back territory from the RSF, food and medical aid have begun to make a dent in civilian suffering. But the situation is desperate in the conflict zones of western and southern war: A simple guide to what is happeningAt the Matbakh-al-Khair communal kitchen in el-Fasher late last month, volunteers turned ambaz into a porridge. This is the residue of peanuts after the oil has been extracted, normally fed to it is possible to find sorghum or millet but on the day of filming, the kitchen manager says: "There is no flour or bread." "Now we've reached the point of eating ambaz. May God relieve us of this calamity, there's nothing left in the market to buy," he UN has amplified its appeal for a humanitarian pause to allow food convoys into the city, with its Sudan envoy Sheldon Yett once more demanding this week that the warring sides observe their obligations under international army has given clearance for the trucks to proceed but the UN is still waiting for official word from the paramilitary advisers have said they believed the truce would be used to facilitate the delivery of food and ammunition to the army's "besieged militias" inside have also claimed the paramilitary group and its allies were setting up "safe routes" for civilians to leave the responders in el-Fasher can receive some emergency cash via a digital banking system, but it does not go very far."The prices in the markets have exploded," says Mathilde Vu, advocacy manager for the Norwegian Refugee Council. "Today, $5,000 [£3,680] covers one meal for 1,500 people in a single day. Three months ago, the same amount could feed them for an entire week."Doctors say people are dying of malnutrition. It is impossible to know how many - one report quoting a regional health official put the number at more than 60 last week. Hospitals cannot cope. Few are still operating. They have been damaged by shelling and are short of medical supplies to help both the starving, and those injured in the continual bombardment."We have many malnourished children admitted in hospital but unfortunately there is no single sachet of [therapeutic food]," says Dr Ibrahim Abdullah Khater, a paediatrician at the Al Saudi Hospital, noting that the five severely malnourished children currently in the ward also have medical complications. "They are just waiting for their death," he hunger crises hit, those who usually die first are the most vulnerable, the least healthy or those suffering from pre-existing conditions."The situation, it is so miserable, it is so catastrophic," the doctor tells us in a voice message. "The children of el-Fasher are dying on a daily basis due to lack of food, lack of medicine. Unfortunately, the international community is just watching."International non-governmental organisations working in Sudan issued an urgent statement this week declaring that "sustained attacks, obstruction of aid and targeting of critical infrastructure demonstrate a deliberate strategy to break the civilian population through hunger, fear, and exhaustion".They said that "anecdotal reports of recent food hoarding for military use add to the suffering of civilians"."There is no safe passage out of the city, with roads blocked and those attempting to flee facing attacks, taxation at checkpoints, community-based discrimination and death," the organisations of thousands of people did flee in recent months, many from the Zamzam displaced persons camp at the edge of el-Fasher, seized by the RSF in April. They arrive in Tawila, a town 60km (37 miles) west of the city, weak and dehydrated, with accounts of violence and extortion along the road from RSF-allied is safer in the crowded camps, but they are stalked by disease - most deadly of all: cholera. It is caused by polluted water and has killed hundreds in Sudan, triggered by the destruction of water infrastructure and lack of food and medical care, and made worse by flooding due to the rainy season. Unlike el-Fasher, in Tawila aid workers at least have access, but their supplies are limited, says John Joseph Ocheibi, the on-site project coordinator for a group called The Alliance for International Medical Action."We have shortages in terms of [washing facilities], in terms of medical supplies, to be able to deal with this situation," he tells the BBC. "We are mobilizing resources to see how best we can be able to respond."Sylvain Penicaud of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) estimates there are only three litres of water per person per day in the camps, which, he says, is "way below the basic need, and forces people to get water from contaminated sources".Zubaida Ismail Ishaq is lying in the tent clinic. She is seven months pregnant, gaunt and exhausted. Her story is a tale of trauma told by tells us she used to trade when she had a little money, before fleeing el-Fasher. Her husband was captured by armed men on the road to Tawila. Her daughter has a head injury. Zubaida and her mother came down with cholera shortly after arriving in the camp."We drink water without boiling it," she says. "We have no-one to get us water. Since coming here, I have nothing left."Back in el-Fasher we hear appeals for help from the women clustered at the soup kitchen - any kind of help."We're exhausted. We want this siege lifted," says Faiza Abkar Mohammed. "Even if they airdrop food, airdrop anything - we're completely exhausted." You may also be interested in: 'I lost a baby and then rescued a child dodging air strikes in Sudan's civil war'Oil-rich Sudanese region becomes new focus of war between army and rival forcesSudan in danger of self-destructing as conflict and famine reign Go to for more news from the African us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
The Sun
8 hours ago
- The Sun
‘Vacuum mulching' can keep your lawn green and healthy in Fall despite the falling leaves – any mower can be transformed
A LAWN care expert gave his best advice on how to take care of your lawn during the fall season. Chris Lazo, who goes by @bermudadad on TikTok, shared his hack for protecting your lawn as the season begins to change. 1 Lazo warns that leaves falling from trees during the seasonal change can block the nutrients the lawn gets from the sun. In the video, Lazo shows leaves covering his whole front lawn. 'There are two great options for handling this, and I'll be testing out Greenworks tools for both of them,' he said. One of the unique methods Lazo used to prep his lawn was lawn mulching. 'Mulching can put the nutrients right back into your grass by chopping leaf materials into particles that are small enough to break down easily and go back into your soil,' Lazo said. He then showed how he turned his Greenworks 60V 21-inch self-propelled lawn mower into a mulcher. 'First thing I'm going to do is block off the chute in the back of the mower with a mulch plug and then remove the side discharge,' Lazo demonstrated. 'This allows the vacuum that the blade creates to keep the grass swirling inside the deck for longer, so that the blade gets multiple passes at the clippings before dropping them back onto the ground,' he continued. Lazo warned that you'll need shorter clippings to have a successful mulch job, which means you'll need to mow more often. Lawn mulching can contribute up to one pound of a lawn's annual nitrogen requirements, according to the home care website The Spruce. Watch the moment home owner walks over their new-build's lawn and shows how landscaping turned it into a water bed A lawn typically requires about four pounds of nitrogen, so reusing the clippings on the grass offers significant benefits. Practicing lawn mulching can also save lawn caretakers a significant amount of time and energy compared to using a lawn mower. 'This is what I do to keep my lawn beautiful, clean, and healthy throughout the fall.' However, if you choose not to lawn mulch, you can always purchase a blower. 'A blower beats a rake any day because it can remove leaves quickly and easily,' he said. Lazo went on to explain that those with larger lawns should look for a blower with a decent amount of power to it and some flexibility. The lawn care expert used Greenworks' 60-volt leaf blower. The leaf blower can produce up to 200 miles per hour winds and has a 60-minute battery life. The leaf blower weighs ten pounds and is powered at 780 cubic feet per meter. Lazo said the blower is great for him because he wants the power without the weight.
