Opal, the pangolin rescued near Cullinan, is pregnant
Five smugglers were arrested for smuggling a pangolin and are awaiting trial at the Cullinan Magistrate's Court.
It is still a matter of touch and go for a pangolin rescued from the clutches of wildlife traffickers last Friday.
The animal is being treated at the Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital. According to Wendy Willson, spokesperson for the hospital, the animal which they have now named Opal, endured extreme trauma.
“She was extremely hungry and dehydrated. Because of their specific diets, these animals do not eat or drink anything when in the hands of their poachers.”
Willson said Opal is fairly early in her pregnancy. The team is cautiously optimistic about Opal’s recovery.
The police, during a special sting operation, arrested five people in the Cullinan area for attempting to traffic Opal.
Members of the police’s stock theft and endangered species unit based in Cullinan, the police and Gauteng traffic wardens executed the operation after receiving information that a pangolin was on sale in Cullinan.
The police spokesman for Tshwane, Warrant Officer Johan van Dyk, said an operational team was formed and located in the vicinity where the transaction was to take place.
They covered all entrances and exits, and a tactical team was on standby to pursue any person or vehicle attempting to flee the area.
“Two vehicles arrived at the designated location, and the team arrested three suspects in one of the vehicles.
“The second vehicle sped away after the driver realised arrests were taking place,” said Van Dyk.
A high-speed chase ensued in the direction of Mpumalanga, where a tactical stopper group managed to apprehend the fleeing suspects.
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All five suspects were arrested and their vehicles were seized and impounded. The team found the pangolin in a bag and rushed her to a wildlife hospital.
The suspects, charged under the National Environmental Management Biodiversity Act 10 of 2004, Section 57 (1), appeared in court on May 20.
The case was postponed to May 27. According to Professor Ray Jansen, a specialist in the field of pangolins, these gentle animals are the most trafficked mammals in the world.
Their scales are used in traditional medicine, especially in the Far East, to allegedly cure various ailments.
The pangolin populations face rapid decline across the world, with all eight species classified as vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered.
