EARTH CHATS welcomes the first guest of Season 2, Professor Raymond Jansen, Chairman of the African Pangolin Working Group (APWG) and a member of the IUCN Species Survival Commission Pangolin Specialist Group. The APWG’s mission is to conserve Africa’s pangolin species and their habitat. Learn more about these endangered mammals and the work of the conservation group.
FACT – THE PANGOLIN IS THE MOST POACHED MAMMAL IN THE WORLD
Listen to the Earth Chat with Professor Ray below:
Follow and listen to Earth Chats on Spotify, Google Podcasts and Apple Podcasts
About Professor Raymond Jansen
Ray is the Chairman of the APWG and a member of the IUCN Species Survival Commission Pangolin Specialist Group. He is a Full Professor in the Department of Environmental, Water and Earth Sciences in the Faculty of Science at the Tshwane University of Technology and holds a PhD in Zoology from the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology based at the University of Cape Town.
Ray’s research interests are diverse and currently focus on rare and endangered birds, mammals and reptiles such as the Southern Ground Hornbill, Yellow-breasted Pipit and the Sungazer. He supervises post-graduate students working on African pangolin ecology, their use in traditional medicine and their prevalence in the bushmeat markets of West and southern Africa.
Saving the most poached and trafficked mammal on the planet, the PANGOLIN
About the African Pangolin Working Group
The African Pangolin Working Group will strive towards the conservation and protection of all four African pangolin species by generating knowledge, developing partnerships and creating public awareness and education initiatives.”
More information about the African Pangolin Working Group can be found on their website www.africanpangolin.org, Facebook and Instagram
About the Pangolin
Pangolin – the venerable ‘wise old man’ of the African bush – is said to be a totem of good luck and the bringer of rain. This enigmatic creature that holds the secrets of 85 million years of evolution is now the most poached mammal on the planet.
Pangolins are poached for their meat and scales, and also used in Chinese traditional medicine for a variety of ailments.
We actively engage in public awareness, pangolin rescue and rehabilitation, training of law enforcement personnel, and engagement with governments and non-governmental organisations across Africa, in addition to research. Most of these activities are not covered by research grants and we rely on donations to effectively protect and conserve pangolins in Africa. If you would like to make a financial contribution to our efforts, you can do so using our banking details listed below. If you would like to make an in-kind donation, please contact us. Thank you for your assistance.
Close up pangolin face 
Pangolin lies rolled into ball on grass 
Endangered African pangolin 
BIOMIMICRY – Learning from nature
