00:00The protective scales on this adorable animal get it into a lot of trouble, mainly because in
00:06traditional Chinese medicine, it's believed that their scales cure arthritis and cancer and even
00:12enhance male vitality. There's no scientific backing for any of these. The overlapping plates
00:17are made of keratin, like human fingernails. The high price for pangolin scales makes it the most
00:24trafficked animal globally. Every year, poachers hunt down around 2.7 million pangolins. But this
00:31little mammal has a role to play as natural pest control by eating up whole termite populations,
00:36which can destroy trees and crops. A single pangolin can consume up to 70 million insects
00:41annually. This pangolin rescue center in Uganda is providing alternative income for former poachers.
00:49They can work at the center, do beekeeping or mushroom farming. The project has been running
00:53for over 12 years now. Today, around 200 people are involved in the project. Almost no pangolins
00:59are now killed by humans here.
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