Netflix documentary: Pangolin saved near Rayton now roams free

A young pangolin saved from a trafficker in a sting at Jan Ellis near Rayton is now the star of a Netflix film, and unbeknownst to him, also the silent voice of the plight of pangolins.

The film Pangolin: Kulu’s Journey premiered on Netflix on April 21. It draws attention to an animal known as ‘the most poached mammal on earth’.

Directed by Academy Award-winner Pippa Ehrlich (the name behind South Africa’s first Netflix original documentary, My Octopus Teacher), Pangolin: Kulu’s Journey, is a uniquely South African narrative of a man and a pangolin pup, on a journey into the wild.

This account unfolds over a year and seven months, encapsulated into 90 minutes of mesmerising storytelling. Filmed at the Lapalala Wilderness Reserve, in the UNESCO-designated Waterberg Biosphere in Limpopo, this landscape sets the tone for our first glimpse of Kulu, a Temminck’s pangolin, bi-pedal and prehistoric-looking.

These animals are the totem of indigenous tribes, considered the ‘protector’ and ‘the bringer of rain’. Their scales have been used in traditional medicine cures for thousands of years – now over-harvested with the four Asian species listed as endangered and critically endangered on the IUCN Red List.

Now, enormous pressure is being brought on the African species, with tons of African pangolin scales exported to Asia, as wildlife contraband for patented traditional medicine that may bring an end to all eight species within the next 10 years.

Kulu’s Journey introduced Gareth Thomas, who, by chance or destiny, met Rayton’s Professor Ray Jansen, the founder of the African Pangolin Working Group. This is one of the first four organisations in the world focusing on pangolin conservation, established in 2011 when the illegal trade with pangolins in South Africa became a noticeable feature of the illegal wildlife trade.

Gareth became a volunteer pangolin walker before being tasked with rehabilitating Kulu. Gareth is with Ray when the 3kg young pangolin is rescued from the illegal trade in a sting operation at Jan Ellis. This is the beginning of his journey with Kulu; a privilege to witness.

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Pippa Ehrlich, environmental storyteller, conservation journalist, filmmaker, and a member of the Sea Change Project continues to explore the themes of the relationship between humans and the living world in Pangolin: Kulu’s Journey.

She says, “The relationship between humans and animals is older than time. There are many versions of this story, but at the heart is a narrative of connection and interdependence.”

Sea Change strives to tell stories that connect humans to the living world, motivating them to become part of the regeneration of our planet.

The African Pangolin Working Group is responsible for the rehabilitation and release of Kulu, a Temminck pangolin rescued from the illegal trade in South Africa.

Like-minded conservationists and scientists established the organisation. They predicted a rapid escalation in the illegal trade of pangolins, that needs concerted efforts to prevent their extinction.

The organisation’s mission is to conserve and protect all four African pangolin species through the veterinary treatment and rehabilitation of pangolins like Kulu, by holding law enforcement workshops, generating knowledge, developing partnerships, and creating public awareness and education initiatives.

This group’s pangolarium (a place for pangolins), in the Lapalala Wilderness Reserve, will work with the relevant law enforcement authorities and private security role players in the Waterberg Biosphere area that make up the Integrated Wildlife Protection Zone to hold workshops for law enforcement and to retrieve pangolins, like Kulu, from the illegal trade in closest proximity to the pangolarium.

An impact campaign will follow the release on Netflix, to take Kulu into the hearts of school children in communities in Limpopo; and to build relationships with community elders, leaders, traditional healers, farmers, and local organisations.

Along with the Sea Change Project and the African Pangolin Working Group, the Pangolin Crisis Fund, a US-based NPO will be increasing global awareness around the film to eliminate the demand, trafficking, and poaching crisis that puts all eight species of pangolins at risk of extinction.