Does COVID-19 offer some hope for pangolins?

Writer: Dr Anina Lee.

Environmentalists noticed the irony in the news that the deadly, novel coronavirus pandemic that started in China in December 2019 had been traced to pangolins. After all, until the past few months, the pangolin was the world’s most trafficked and endangered mammal.

Pangolins are massively over-harvested for Chinese markets, an over-exploitation which is driving the animals to extinction across the world. Markets, such as the one in Wuhan where the epidemic originated, sell a vast smorgasbord of exotic animals for consumption – from live wolf pups and snakes, to bats and pangolins.

A coronavirus looks like a bouncy ball with tiny ‘spikes’ fused across its surface. It was named after these tiny spikes which, at high magnification, resemble a halo or corona.

PHOTO: American Society for Microbiology

Now the pangolin has seemingly struck back. Highly endangered pangolins appear to be vectors for the deadly viral strain. This has unleashed a global health emergency and resulted in a temporary national ban in China on the consumption and trade of wildlife products.

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