可愛的穿山甲是世界上最常被販賣的動物

In the rainforests of the Congo, Cameroon and Central African Republic (CAR) lives an elusive mammal that looks like a cross between an anteater, an armadillo and a pinecone. And thanks to poachers, the pangolin is the most trafficked animal on earth.

在剛果、喀麥隆和中非共和國的熱帶雨林中，生活著一種難以捉摸的哺乳動物，它看起來像是食蟻獸、犰狳和松果的混合體。多虧了偷獵者，穿山甲成了地球上最常被販賣的動物。

In April 2019, Singapore seized a world record 25.6 tons of pangolin scales, worth $76.5 million, from an estimated 38,000 of the creatures. In December, scales from some 50,000 African pangolins were seized by Chinese authorities.

2019年4月，新加坡從大約38000只穿山甲中繳獲了創(chuàng)紀(jì)錄的25.6噸穿山甲鱗片，價值7650萬美元。去年12月，中國有關(guān)部門查獲了約5萬只非洲穿山甲的鱗片。

In all, it is estimated that more than 100,000 pangolins, mostly from Africa, were killed by traffickers last year — compared to 200 rhinos and 1,000 tigers.

據(jù)估計，去年共有10萬多只穿山甲被人販子殺死，其中大部分來自非洲，而犀牛和老虎的數(shù)量分別為200頭和1000頭。

“It’s because of this scale, this unique feature [that makes)] them a target,” said Tessa Ullman, a volunteer at the Sangha Pangolin Project, a preservation society. “The Pangolin burrow and create holes, so [the scales are] associated with circulation. It’s used as an ingredient in traditional Asian medicines … They’re used to help mothers for lactation, and for blood pressure. But none of this has been clinically proven.”

“正是因為這種規(guī)模，這種獨(dú)特的特征，才使它們成為目標(biāo)，”僧伽穿山甲項目(Sangha Pangolin Project)的志愿者特薩·烏爾曼(Tessa Ullman)說。“穿山甲會挖洞、挖洞，所以(鱗片)與循環(huán)有關(guān)。它被用作傳統(tǒng)亞洲藥物的成分……它們被用來幫助母親泌乳和血壓。但這些都沒有得到臨床證明。”

But that’s not stopping true believers.

但這并沒有阻止真正的信徒。

According to the ASEAN Post, “Sunda pangolins in Indonesia are at risk of extinction [and the country] has already lost up to 10,000 a year to illegal trade.”

據(jù)《東盟郵報》報道，“印尼的巽他穿山甲有滅絕的危險，(該國)每年因非法貿(mào)易損失高達(dá)1萬只。”