The Pangolin
Across Africa and AsiaYou will find a scaly gentle beast An incredible big and little creature At risk and known about the least The last remaining dinosaurs But far smaller in their scaleThey carry young behind Upon their diamond scale, tiled tail Their bodies balanced perfectlyHorizontal from the ground On all fours without all four With just rear two it walks around Hunted for it’s keratin The scales upon the backTens of thousands across three continents Which once gone will not come back It feasts on ants and termites The longest tongue you’ve ever seenLives six feet below in burrowsOr up high amongst the green It eats 70 million ants per year An astonishing amount I often wondered when I learned of thisWho it was who had to count And if they did the counting Did they shed 70 million tears When observing all the poachersDepriving these creatures of their years Tens of thousands of these Pangolins Are hunted for their scalesCrunched into a soup To provide virility for males Or used to help new mothersLactate, or so they thinkBy prioritising a mother’s milkThis species existence is on the brink No scientific evidence supports Their ‘for medicinal purposes’ claim And their slow decline in numbersIs species genocide in all but name Not only are these creatures Strange and also very rareThey truly are incredible And we really aught to care And put pressure on the poachersWho perpetrate these crimesPerpetuating the misery Of these scaly porcupines These creatures just like anteatersBut more strange in every wayReally don’t deserve to die To kill for scales is not okay Their reproduction isn’t quick enoughTo slow down their quick declineWe have to stop the trade of scales Passing through and over country lines How can you prevent extinctionOf this gentle, long tongued, scaly thing? Share this simple sentiment Don’t wipe-out our amazing Pangolins