PANGOLIN: The World’s Most Trafficked Prehistoric Animal

Added: 2026-05-25

[00:00:00]The African continent is home to some of the most varied and spectacular biodiversity.

[00:00:06]Large predators and herds of herbivores roam [music] the savas while apes, birds, and snakes inhabit the dense forests. But man-made devastation means many of these creatures face the serious and very real threat of extinction.

[00:00:21]Cities have grown and [music] land has been transformed as we've wiped out entire ecosystems.

[00:00:27]The threat has never been more consequential than it is now.

[00:00:32]My name's Ben Fogle and I'll be traveling through Africa to investigate some of these serious issues in [music] this global fight for the survival of the species. [music] Animal poaching and the subsequent trafficking of high value wildlife species are serious threats to the survival and conservation of wildlife globally. It's one of the world's most lucrative criminal activities valued at billions of US dollars annually. The motivations behind Africa's illegal wildlife trade vary depending on the type of commodities [music] and the crime involved, but they include poverty, lack of alternative livelihoods and subsistence. Traditional medicinal use as part of cultural beliefs and the desire to flaunt wealth. Wildlife trafficking [music] is attractive to organized crime groups because of its low risks, high profits, and weak penalties. To gain a better understanding of the issues, I'll be traveling from South Africa to Uganda.

[00:01:36]I'll meet with those that consider wildlife to be a vital part of their culture. These people are on the front line in the fight against trafficking.

[00:01:45]I'm beginning my journey in Johannesburg, the financial powerhouse of Africa.

[00:02:00]I'm in Johannesburg and uh I'm on my way to a Mouti market called Faraday. Uh I'm fascinated. I've never been to a market like this ever before. And a Mouti market is sort of I suppose my understanding it's an alternative traditional medicine market. Uh so out in Africa the Sangoma are the the the sort of alternative medicine doctors and they use everything you can imagine in their medicines. And when I say everything, that's what I'm about to find. So, I I I I have no idea quite how wide ranging the flora and the fauna that they use is going to be, but certainly from a little bit of research I've done, um I think I'm in for a surprise.

[00:02:52]Faraday Market is a mooty market in the heart of Johannesburg where traditional African medicines are sold to the public.

[00:03:00]Over a 100 stalls run by traditional healers prescribe traditional medicines made from animal skulls and skins, tree bark, herbs, roots, and other natural ingredients.

[00:03:12][music] >> How's it?

[00:03:18]>> Hey, how are you? Great. Good to see you.

[00:03:20]>> So, what what what have we got here?

[00:03:21]What are you collecting?

[00:03:23]>> Yeah, this one is we call it.

[00:03:25]>> Yes. For cleaning. We we boil it. Then then we clean >> this the stomach.

[00:03:32]>> Stomach. Yes.

[00:03:33]>> Even the kidneys.

[00:03:35]>> And you've got a huge selection of things here. How many different plants do you think you have?

[00:03:40]>> Different plants. This one we call it.

[00:03:43]>> You you you grind it and you b with it.

[00:03:46]You steam also.

[00:03:47]>> And what would this do to you?

[00:03:48]>> Yeah. To protect yourself.

[00:03:49]>> To protect from what?

[00:03:50]>> Yeah. From the enemies.

[00:03:52]>> Oh. From enemies.

[00:03:52]>> And to be to be strong also.

[00:03:55]>> It's incredible.

[00:03:56]>> Yeah. This one. And you've got what about the starfish over there?

[00:03:59]>> Starfish you you you vomit with it to >> you vomit with it.

[00:04:04]>> Yes.

[00:04:04]>> So if I if I how would I consume this?

[00:04:07]>> No. No. No. You grind it.

[00:04:08]>> Oh, you grind it up.

[00:04:09]>> Grind it up. Yes.

[00:04:10]>> And then drink it.

[00:04:11]>> Yeah. No. Yeah. You drink it to vomit.

[00:04:13]>> To vomit. To what? To clear out my >> my body.

[00:04:16]>> Yes.

[00:04:18]>> Thank you for giving me a small insight.

[00:04:20]Thank you, sir. Thank you. Good luck.

[00:04:21]Thank you. Thank you.

[00:04:25]>> [music] [music] >> Tanya.

[00:04:36]>> Hi.

[00:04:37]>> Hello. I'm Ben.

[00:04:38]>> I'm Kanye.

[00:04:39]>> Very nice to meet you. This is amazing.

[00:04:41]>> Thank you.

[00:04:42]>> Wow.

[00:04:43]>> Natural stuff.

[00:04:44]>> I I don't think I've ever really been to a market quite like this. For from Well, in Europe, most markets are for the tummy. you know, you're going to go and buy fruit and vegetables, but I haven't really seen any of that here. There's some animal products, but it doesn't look like they're there to eat. So, I I know this is a mut, but how do you how would you describe to me what a muti market is?

[00:05:05]>> Firstly, it's natural herbs mostly >> and then we do have some animals there and there >> but mostly it's herbs.

[00:05:15]>> Mhm. And this is like coming to a chemist or a pharmacy. Yes, ex >> but a natural one.

[00:05:19]>> A natural one. So are you a sangoma?

[00:05:22]>> I am a healer. I'm not a sangoma because a sangoma is someone who is trained >> to be a sangoma. I'm just a healer. I'm like a pharmacist actually.

[00:05:31]>> So if you when you look at all these I I with all due respect to everything >> I see piles of wood.

[00:05:37]>> Yes. But everything has a purpose.

[00:05:40]>> We have Yeah. Actually everything have a purpose. And then it depends on how you mix your your traditional herbs on the situation of a person.

[00:05:50]>> So we use lots of things differently to each situation.

[00:05:55]>> And out here in South Africa, how important are healers like yourself and the sangoma?

[00:06:01]>> We are very important because we are a buildup nation. We this c this culture to us is the most important thing that was left for for us for from our forefathers.

[00:06:18]>> So they use herbs mo mostly they use rivers they use natural things. So it passes to one another.

[00:06:28]>> Looking around the market obviously there's a lot of it is a lot of it is plant-based and from trees but there are animal products as well.

[00:06:36]>> Yeah. Yeah. And would you would you include animal products in in in your medicines?

[00:06:41]>> Yes. Which >> give me some examples.

[00:06:43]>> Maybe if you want to protect something, you can use the herbs, the strong herbs, and then use the strong animals together.

[00:06:53]>> And what sort of animals might you use for that?

[00:06:55]>> Maybe it depends on what are you protecting? Maybe a a lion.

[00:07:01]>> Mhm.

[00:07:02]>> That presumably that strength.

[00:07:03]>> Yes. A cheetah.

[00:07:05]>> Mhm. a elephant, some big animals.

[00:07:08]>> It depends on what are you protecting or what mixture are you doing >> and then you put animals.

[00:07:15]>> Kenya, I'm starting on a journey to try and understand more about Africa in general, the culture, the uses of the the flora and the fauna. Can you prescribe me a medicine to give me enlightenment so that I I have a true clear understanding?

[00:07:32]>> I will give you one. I will give you this one >> called in. It means a white L.

[00:07:40]>> Yes.

[00:07:40]>> And I drink it as a tea.

[00:07:42]>> You drink it not as a tea. Maybe warm and then you can vomit with it.

[00:07:46]>> You steam with it and then you bath with it while you using it. You must pray and then you must talk.

[00:07:52]>> Okay.

[00:07:53]>> What you want >> Thank you very much.

[00:07:55]>> Thank you. Thank you.

[00:07:56]>> Thank you.

[00:08:01]That was a complete assault on the senses. Amazing. I've never been to a Mucci market before and uh I still don't really know what I saw to be quite honest. It's uh there's so much to look at and yet it's almost indecipherable unless you are there with someone who understands uh what what every single um piece of bark and piece of flora and fauna is for. It's a bit of a mystery really. And if this if this is symbolic of every single city in every single country in Africa, can you imagine how many animals uh are being hunted and killed for traditional medicine? And here's the point that I really struggle with is who are we who am I to say that they shouldn't practice their traditional medicine? Because they could say exactly the same about us. They could go and visit one of our high-tech pharmaceutical plants with dozens, hundreds of scientists in white cloaks who are spending billions of pounds developing a a um a medicine that might try and eradicate malaria. I think that's a good thing, but I'm sure they could pick holes in it. And that's what I think is fascinating about this whole journey and and and about um trying to understand this fine balance between culture, between tradition, between heritage and in this case medicine.

[00:09:25]I'm heading to meet Professor Ray Jansen, the chairman of the African Pangalin Working Group, which has established itself as world leaders in the scientific research regarding African Pangalan [music] ecology, threats, and traditional use.

[00:09:43]These critically endangered creatures are indigenous to Africa and Asia and are the most trafficked animals around the globe. They're most often sold into countries like Vietnam and China where locals consider them as delicacies or for a traditional medicine like those I've just seen in Faraday.

[00:10:01][music] Last year 97 tons of African panggalan scales equating to over 150,000 panggalins were intercepted [music] on their way to Asia. All eight species of the elusive and enigmatic panggalin which have existed for 85 million years are on the brink of [music] extinction.

[00:10:22]Here in a patch of grassland in the middle of Gouten seems a strange place to meet my [music] first one.

[00:10:31]>> Hey Ray.

[00:10:32]>> Hey Ben.

[00:10:32]>> How are you? Good to see you.

[00:10:33]>> Pleased to meet you. Lovely to meet you.

[00:10:35]>> It's kind of an unexpected place to come and meet a panggalan.

[00:10:39]>> We're in the middle of the suburbs of northern part of Joberg. Mhm.

[00:10:42]>> So, suburbia here and um we're out here to walk penglins [laughter] >> as you do.

[00:10:48]>> As we do, they they don't forage in captivity, so we have to walk them.

[00:10:52]>> So, we try and find as natural a place as possible like this where there's a healthy population of ants, mostly ants and some termites. And um the youngster we're going to meet today is Ramy.

[00:11:03]>> Mhm.

[00:11:04]>> And uh he's about 6 kg now. And he's been in our care for almost a year. And uh he's approaching the release age, but this is the process of him every day foraging four or five hours a day.

[00:11:16]>> And uh we'll go and see if we can find him.

[00:11:17]>> Let's go.

[00:11:18]>> Cool.

[00:11:22]>> Ramy is just one of the panggalins living here that was confiscated during elicit trade. As these littleknown mammals feed exclusively on ants and termites, their natural diet is impossible to replicate in captivity.

[00:11:36]Here, surrounded [music] by ant hills and termite mounds, they roam for up to eight hours in guided feeding, supported by a team of devoted walkers.

[00:11:47]>> So, this is pretty close to his natural >> Yeah. So, environment.

[00:11:50]>> Pretty much ideal um what it used to be like all over the Joberg Hills 200 years ago.

[00:11:58]>> Mhm.

[00:11:59]>> Um indigenous bush natural environment.

[00:12:03]Um and this is where they find their favorite um ant food types.

[00:12:10]>> That's amazing. It's the first panggalan I've ever seen. Live pengalin.

[00:12:16][laughter] >> So, we'll just keep our voices down.

[00:12:20]>> Sure.

[00:12:23]>> So, tell me a bit about him.

[00:12:25]>> So, um he's a a young male. He's around about 6 kg now.

[00:12:30]>> Yeah. He came in from the legal wildlife trade when he was about a kilogram old.

[00:12:36]>> Mhm.

[00:12:36]>> So he's foraging now. Um this is natural behavior. Phenomenal sense of smell.

[00:12:41]>> Right.

[00:12:42]>> Um even 30 40 cm below the surface of the earth. They can pick up an ant nest and a chamber with eggs. And so that's his favorite.

[00:12:51]>> How many ants might he get per >> We don't really know. But he can take in, you know, two 300 g which is a couple of thousand ants.

[00:12:59]>> No way.

[00:13:00]>> Yeah.

[00:13:01]Just every day >> and presumably these the scales which are so covetable. Yeah.

[00:13:07]>> This is what they use for protection.

[00:13:09]>> Sure. So not only protection against predators >> which is what what predates them.

[00:13:14]>> A natural predator will be something like a leopard, a lion and a hyena.

[00:13:18]>> Although they they they won't succeed in an adult penguin. A hyena may because of the sheer power of the jaws. But lion leopard can't kill a penglin. Mhm.

[00:13:27]>> Their their greatest predator is man, which is a completely unnatural predator.

[00:13:32]>> And uh at the at the level that we trading in penguins at this stage, they they'll probably last maybe two more decades.

[00:13:39]>> That's it. 20 years.

[00:13:40]>> Yeah.

[00:13:42]>> So it will literally roll into a ball.

[00:13:43]>> Yeah. Yeah. Roll into a ball, grab his back feet with his hind feet, >> and uh you can't prize them out. They're very powerful front um limbs.

[00:13:52]>> Mhm.

[00:13:53]>> Yeah.

[00:13:55]So why are panggalins persecuted so much?

[00:13:59]>> Yeah, unfortunately they one of those creatures um that are used heavily in for traditional medicine for both medicinal re reasons and mythical reasons, spiritual reasons, things like warding off evil or to cure nosebleleeds or whatever. And it goes back into Asian culture many thousands of years. And the problem with culture is it's it's heavily in depth in in people's livelihoods. And to take your culture and say penglins are worthless um within your culture is a very difficult thing.

[00:14:30]The four Asian species are are now so rare that just like um the Asian rhino being rare, they're coming for the African rhino. And and because the Asian penguins are so rare, they're coming for the four African species.

[00:14:41]>> Are they just poached for their scales?

[00:14:43]>> No, not at all. Um in places like Vietnam, they're a delicacy. Um $2,000 a plate. Pangland fetus soup is on the menu in Vietnam. They're also eaten in Africa um but naturally in the bush meat trade but now that commodity chain has has has changed where they used to just be eaten as bush meat and now actively hunted for their scales for the Asian market. Um so they're on a very fine timeline I'm afraid.

[00:15:09]>> I've seen out here the work you have to do to to feed uh a panggalin that's being kept in captivity.

[00:15:17]>> I assume they can't be habituated. They can't be farmed. Well, we don't know if they can be farmed. Like most mammals, you probably could breed them in captivity, but we'd strongly recommend that that shouldn't be the case because then you'll never be able to release a a a captive panglin and a panglin that's brought up on artificial diet. Uh it's so habituated to humans that it'll find comfort in humans and then just be poached. Um so, and ethically, it's incorrect. What we need to do and focus on is keeping them in their natural habitat, looking after their habitats.

[00:15:48]Um, stop logging processes, stop all the palm farming and that's where they belong, you know. Um, the in southern Africa, the Tmy's grand penglin is found in the natural bushfelt and the Kalahari regions and all up through East Africa, Kenya, right up into northern Chad. So although it's quite widespread, they're very, very rare on the ground and very few people see them. the majority of the world's population hasn't seen a live penguin. Um like you today have seen your first penglin. I hadn't until about 10 years ago. And then you know you you realize the plight of of these um incredible animals, these peaceful harmless mammals. Um it's just amazing.

[00:16:26]>> What's the answer?

[00:16:28]>> The youth. I think like we fighting with rhino horn. I don't think we're ever going to curb that trade. the youth and the Asian youth need to accept that once they're gone, they're gone forever. We can't carry on using something to the point that it's completely gone. Um, we have to start worrying about them right now and uh for the sins of the fathers, the youth have to inherit this and and uh fight the fight on our behalf.

[00:16:56]It's amazing to finally see a pangalin in 20 years of coming to Africa. This is the first time I've ever seen one of these guys. Now, it's sad that this is one effectively in captivity, although it gets to actually forage [music] in uh in this wild environment, but terrifying to think that without our help, these guys might only have 20 years left on this planet.

[00:17:23]The hospitalization specialist treatment and rehabilitation program are run by the Johannesburg Wildlife Veterary Hospital in collaboration with Ry and APWG.

[00:17:35]Dr. Karen Lawrence and Nikki Wright, an independent wildlife rehabilitation specialist, care for wildlife at the hospital before they're rehabilitated and released back into the wild. I've been invited to meet a female panggalan who was rescued from the illegal trade.

[00:17:51]We've got a beautiful female panggalan, a teix ground pengalin, >> who was confiscated off the trade about 2 weeks ago, >> right?

[00:18:00]>> Um, and she's uh pregnant. She's an adult mature female and she's pregnant.

[00:18:04]Yeah. Her baby's about that big.

[00:18:07]>> So, um, what we're going to do today is just take her out of her box and weigh her.

[00:18:11]>> And then we're going to be taking some blood just to check that everything's working properly and put her telemetry on cuz she's almost ready for release.

[00:18:22]Penguins are very very strong. So they say these these boxes made which I've tested out on honey badges. So they are really strong.

[00:18:30]>> Oh, look. There she is.

[00:18:31]>> There she is. Yeah.

[00:18:32]>> Wow. In a ball.

[00:18:34]>> So how do you handle a pengalin?

[00:18:36]>> Carefully.

[00:18:37]>> Carefully. [laughter] >> They're pretty strong. Um she weighs almost 10 kg, so she's quite heavy.

[00:18:42]>> Um and also she just woken up, so she may be a little bit crotchety as one can be. Um, so yeah, we're going to pick her up. Come on, sweetheart.

[00:18:55]>> There she goes. So, over to the scales.

[00:18:57]>> Yeah, we'll walk over to the scales.

[00:18:59]>> Close that for you.

[00:19:00]>> You can do or you can leave it open.

[00:19:01]>> Yeah, >> there we go. Hello, girl.

[00:19:06]>> Look at her little fat feet.

[00:19:08]>> Look. [laughter] Hello.

[00:19:12]>> Look at her. Isn't she Oh, she's stretching. [laughter] Okay. Scale. Is it quite important that you monitor >> her weight? Check she's eating enough.

[00:19:21]>> Exactly. Whoops. She's 9.36.

[00:19:26]>> Mhm.

[00:19:26]>> And you have to take blood from her as well, do you?

[00:19:28]>> So, we're going to take her into the operating theater and Dr. Karen Lawrence is going to anthetize her and then we'll take blood so that we can run tests and see how she's doing. And um we're going to put her telemetry tag on today as well >> because um her release is imminent.

[00:19:44]>> Really? So how long from tell me a bit about exactly where you rescued her from then.

[00:19:48]>> Um well she was confiscated in Limpopo province um in a during a sting operation. So there were two poachers that were trying to sell her um and a sting operation was set up um and they were she she was confiscated and the two guys were arrested.

[00:20:04]>> Um and so she went to a vet up there for stabilization who we work with and then came down to us for the rest of the rehab process.

[00:20:11]>> She'll give birth here and then be released. No, no, no. She's going to be released before her birth. Yes. Yeah. We want her settled in a nice um um habitat and being monitored through the telemetry >> um before she gives birth. We want everything nice and settled for.

[00:20:24]>> And when you talk of telemetry, you basically mean a tracking device so you can keep an eye on where she is.

[00:20:28]>> That's right. Yes. So, we attach two telemetry tags to each panggalan. One of them is a VHF device uh which has been specifically designed to fit onto them and the other one is a satellite device.

[00:20:39]So we're covered for all eventualities because they move a lot um and they can cover vast distances in a night. So you can lose they can go out of your VHF range. So the satellite telemetry then gives you a general area of where they are and then you can hone in with the VHF.

[00:20:54]>> So after putting all this work and effort into into them, >> we don't want to lose them on the sort of third night of their release.

[00:21:02]>> Of course not. Should we take her through to the vet?

[00:21:04]>> Yes, let's do that.

[00:21:06]>> Come on, sweetheart.

[00:21:08]I'd offer to help you carry her, but I think you've got better better panggalin carrying skills than me.

[00:21:14]>> Depending on their species, panggalins are usually pregnant for 69 to 150 days, and they [music] give birth to only one baby. Nikki and the team intend to see this panggalin back into the wild before she gives birth. So, Karen, working here, I suppose you never quite know what you're going to have to deal with on a day-to-day basis. That's probably one of the reasons why I open this practice with Nikki >> cuz it's it's it's a new thing every day. It's interesting and exciting.

[00:21:41]>> So, what are we doing with this girl now?

[00:21:44]>> Normally, when we get them in, we do blood tests on them just to make sure they're okay. Um often when they come in from the tray, they've not eaten for 7 to 10 days. They've not had water. So, they they dehydrated. [clears throat] They have kidney um issues and failure.

[00:21:56]Very thin. Um luckily, it seems like she wasn't with the captors too long. The blood tests were quite normal the first time we [clears throat] did it. So, >> okay. And you have you can't take a blood test with them being fully conscious.

[00:22:10]>> No. Um, when they roll into a ball, it's impossible to get them open. Not even a lion can get them open. So, us puny humans trying it is also not it's not going to happen. So, what we do is we we gas them. We use isoflloren gas. It's what they use for humans and most other animals. She is pregnant. Mhm.

[00:22:28]>> This gas is safe for um fetuses and and things. They use it when they do cesarians on animals. So, it's very safe.

[00:22:36]>> Um and then cuz we use the tail vein or the coxidial vein to take blood from because yeah, it's not very much easy to get into the vein that they use for for people.

[00:22:46]>> I mean to see a pang I feel really privileged to see a pangle in this close. Look at these feet. They're like little elephant elephant feet.

[00:22:53]>> Tiny little d.

[00:22:53]>> Do you you and you obviously give her a full once over as well?

[00:22:56]>> Yes. Yes, we we weigh her. We make sure her hydration is normal. We check her eyes. We check her ears. Um, but she's actually in quite good condition. Often times when they're very thin, >> this goes in all the way.

[00:23:09]>> So, because she's got nice layer of fat, >> it's good. Biot telemetry including very high frequency and GPS tracking is a widely used technique for collecting information regarding spatial ecology habitat preferences, activity patterns and species survival rates that are otherwise difficult to observe in the wild. For this female it means she can be tracked when she gives birth.

[00:23:33]>> So this is the telemetry.

[00:23:34]>> This is the satellite tag.

[00:23:36]>> I mean it looks if I'm to be honest, it looks quite large. It is quite a bulky uh piece of equipment, but we won't put this on a penglin under 8 kg.

[00:23:45]>> Okay.

[00:23:45]>> So, it mustn't form any more than about 3 4% of their body weight. This is less than 2% with both >> both tags on.

[00:23:53]>> Mhm. And you've obviously done this many times. Does it inhibit them when they're foraging naturally?

[00:23:58]>> Not at all. So, um they'll go down burrows and they they have to be quite rugged, these units, to handle a penglin.

[00:24:06]>> They go into rocky caves. They go into burrows, they go into art for holes.

[00:24:11]>> Um, so the many times the the the tags actually be get destroyed by the penglins, >> but they don't inhibit the penguin's movements or foraging behavior or or any any such.

[00:24:22]>> So just a household drill.

[00:24:24]>> It's a household drilled with a wood with a wood drill bit.

[00:24:27]>> Yep.

[00:24:30]>> This is >> looks slightly gruesome, but it's like going through a nail, is it?

[00:24:33]>> It's just clipping your nails. Yeah.

[00:24:34]>> Yeah. Very thick nail.

[00:24:35]>> Very thick nail. So, um, this part of the of the scale is dead like the end of your fingernail.

[00:24:41]>> There is a living part of the scale that more in there.

[00:24:45]>> Yep.

[00:24:45]>> Um, but this has got no feeling whatsoever.

[00:24:48]>> Mhm.

[00:24:50]>> Like rhino horn.

[00:24:51]>> Like rhino.

[00:24:56]>> And what kind of information are you going to get from tracking? Is it merely keeping an eye on where they are?

[00:25:00]>> No, not at all. So, we'll know what type of burrows they use. We'll know their movement behavior. um will know their um territories and home ranges and if we are following a pair we'll know courtship behavior as well.

[00:25:13]>> These trackers last just over 12 months before the onboard batteries die out.

[00:25:18]Tracking this globally threatened mammal allows conservationists to gather vital information over long periods helping them to understand and ultimately protect the pangalin. I mean, an astonishing opportunity to be able to walk with a panggalin and to to [music] to see a creature that has evaded me for nearly 20 years. I've been coming to Africa to to various countries. And today I saw my first panglin. Now, the sad part of that is that here was a penglin that had to be rescued. It was going to end up either in a moot market or for bush meat, probably both, in fact. Uh but there are organizations like this that that try to intercept that. Now, I've visited muty markets. I understand the cultural importance that that traditional medicine still holds across Africa, but I've also seen the impact it has. But here are animals that have been saved, and it's a a stark reminder that there is a huge pressure as the population grows, especially here on on the African continent across all of the nations. it it's reaching proportions that are simply unsustainable. And while we like to think that that we can hold on to our cultures, our heritage, our traditions, that when balanced with a population that's doubling, tripling, quadrupling is un unsustainable. We can't do it with food. We can't do it with habitat. So I don't think we can do it with traditional medicine.

[00:26:55]Departing South Africa, I'm now heading to Uganda. Uganda is situated in the region of the African Great Lakes and hosts a rich biodiversity.

[00:27:05]Uganda is considered to play a major role as a hub for illegal wildlife trade with crime syndicates organizing the collection of ivory and other high value wildlife products from cities like Campala.

[00:27:19]I'm meeting with deputy [music] director of the Uganda Wildlife Authority. The UWA manages multiple national parks and wildlife reserves. One of their roles is the protection of thousands of wildlife species, which they're trying to achieve by addressing some of the driving forces behind wildlife crime. Charles, it's the milliondoll question, the solution. How do we how do we find this balance between man's needs, wildlife's needs, greed, corruption, development, progress?

[00:27:51]Indeed, it is a multi-million dollar question with no specific answer. But what we are doing in Uganda to address this is one we've realized that we need to build the capacity of the staff of Uganda wide drive authority through training through equipping them to be able to manage the threats that we are facing but two working with partners. We have Uganda Conservation Foundation for example as one of the partners that has come up to help us recover the population in Merion Falls. They have helped us to set up ranger posts. They have helped us to train our people in marine in the rangers in leadership and now we are going into the communities to see what can we do with the communities to improve their livelihoods so that they can support conservation. So we hope that in the coming years we should see better wildlife. We should see uh tourism booming. We should see improved relationship with the communities and improved conservation in Uganda.

[00:29:00]>> Many in the conservation community in Africa and beyond question whether governments across Africa and in this case in Uganda are really serious about what they say or whether they're just they're just paying lip service to it.

[00:29:14]Are are they serious? Is the Ugandan government really serious? Are they putting their money where their words are?

[00:29:19]>> The government is very serious. First of all, the government has increased the national parks that we had. We initially had three. They are now 10. So that means that they are supporting conservation. But also in terms of the interventions that we are putting in place, they all supported by the government. We've now introduced sniffer dogs, detector dogs at the airport.

[00:29:39]These are able to detect and sniff any cargo that is leaving the country. We have we the Uganda Revenue Authority has installed scanners. Just a few last week we were able to get a consignment of ivory hidden in timber through the scanners of Uganda Revenue Authority. So there is synergies but there is also there is a lot of government support to ensure that conservation in Uganda and tourism are at its best.

[00:30:08]>> [music] >> As you can see, I'm [music] inching my way through Campala's notoriously slow traffic. Uh, and I'm on my way to meet Patrick from the NRCN. This is the the specialist crime unit who uh investigates and tracks down those involved in the the shady underworld of poaching.

[00:30:34]The UWA has a huge task and working with other partners is critical to their success.

[00:30:41]The Natural Resources Conservation Network is a non-governmental organization based here in Campala.

[00:30:50]So Patrick, the first thing I want to know is what the NRCN is and what they do. NRS is a is a local NGO, a local non-governmental organization uh that is registered in Uganda uh working hand in hand with local and international partners to uh to combat wildlife uh crime uh in Uganda and globally.

[00:31:13]>> Uganda's been um highlighted as one of the weak spots in Africa for the illegal wildlife trade. Why? Why is that?

[00:31:20]>> That's correct. I I think from the from the Bangkok societies convention, we as Uganda then had to come up to to challenge this kind of position. Why is it that Uganda among all the countries in Africa? Why Uganda why is Uganda being used as as a weak spot you know for uh for for for taking over these wildlife products to other countries. So as NRCN we we then have to think around uh the challenges uh that the country faces why Uganda was being listed as economies because we have a very weak uh and lenient uh laws as as far as wildlife uh uh trade is concerned illegal wildlife trade is concerned >> and and when you say uh you don't have very tough sentencing let's say I was caught at the airport with some illegal >> rhino horn what would be my sentence In in such censuses probably they could be like 2 months or 3 months or 6 months.

[00:32:16]>> Two months is is nothing for something like that.

[00:32:18]>> Two months is so so >> what do you think would be fair >> as in our role has been to to encourage and to sensitize the the legal fraternity on the importance of wildlife. Uh given the fact that if you look at the the story of Uganda tourism is the number one uh revenue earner for for for the country. So we've gone ahead to educate the legal fraternity, the importance of wildlife, what it contributes to the country and therefore the value of this wildlife products for example.

[00:32:47]>> And what about the wider population of Uganda? Do you think there is an understanding of the value of the wildlife here? I think uh the understanding is a is is a bit of a challenge and uh as NRCN as as a committed team of locals of Ugandans we going ahead to educate our communities on the importance of the of wildlife. uh say for example communities living around the park areas uh we're trying to educate them tell them why they have to preserve these animals that are getting almost extinct and yet we receive tourists who are investing heavily in Uganda to protect these very same endangered species >> but this is all very well until money is offered by perhaps slightly more organized sides of the illegal wildlife trade and the temptation for locals to go and kill an animal becomes too tempting.

[00:33:41]>> The illegal the legal wildlife traders are very organized. Uh these are heavily funded people. So it's it's really upon us the locals to try and push it out to our our colleagues that you know $1,000 being offered to you uh for for an elephant is not worth it. trying to to discourage them from taking those small small tokens from the traffickers is really the role that we're trying to play under them.

[00:34:08]>> It still strikes me though that maybe the people who are prosecuted and persecuted the most are those who have the least who were forced to do it and that those who are actually the puppeteers are still getting away with it.

[00:34:24]I >> I think with our collaborations we we're doing quite a lot. uh it's something again I can share with you but uh I'm certain that uh as we move on into our work more and more uh people that are engaged in this kind of work uh uh get noticed and finally >> brought to justice >> brought to justice >> conservation in Uganda primarily focuses on the country's protected areas the largest protected area is Merchesen Falls [music] and covers a combined area of 5,056 km kometers. It also contains the impressive river Nile, a vital resource for people, the land, and wildlife. But while the Nile is a source of food [music] for people and animals, and attracts valuable tourist revenue, it also provides a route for poachers to move along, killing animals for bush meat and ivory and threatening the livelihoods of local fishing communities.

[00:35:22]>> What they're looking for now actually is uh all illegal activities. All all activities that are done in this water.

[00:35:28]>> Okay.

[00:35:29]>> We have uh fishing that is done and we have other people who come for poaching.

[00:35:33]>> They come close to the river with their hunting materials to kill the hippos.

[00:35:39]>> To kill the hippos. Oh, I was thinking it was just fish. So people will actually come down here.

[00:35:44]>> Yeah.

[00:35:45]>> To kill a hippo.

[00:35:46]>> Kill hippos.

[00:35:46]>> For the meat.

[00:35:47]>> For the meat. Yeah.

[00:35:48]>> A lot of meat on a hippo.

[00:35:49]>> A lot of meat. So once we are doing our patrols, we check both the the fishing in the water and uh we go outside the outside the water to check on whether we can get some traps that are light laid by these people for trapping the hippos.

[00:36:04]>> How how do they how do they hunt a hippo?

[00:36:07]>> In most cases, hippos here they use wire snares.

[00:36:10]>> Wire snares and spears. Yeah, they set wire snares. Then uh once it's trapped in the wire snare, they come with their spears and then spear it. This is what we have.

[00:36:20]>> Crocodiles as well.

[00:36:22]>> Yeah, >> crocodiles as well. Uh with crocodiles, they set the wire snares around where they where they they lay their eggs actually.

[00:36:30]>> So what how do you spot a how would you even go about finding a snare or looking for a spot where they might be uh hiding? We have some areas where it's accessible when you go out. You move outside the outside. You leave your park your boat and then go outside and try to check around.

[00:36:47]>> Okay.

[00:36:48]>> We have areas where we suspect people to be.

[00:36:50]>> Yeah.

[00:36:50]>> Yeah.

[00:36:51]>> And do you always do this during daylight? Do you go out after dark as well?

[00:36:55]>> We have both operations, the day operations and the night operations.

[00:36:59]Okay.

[00:36:59]>> Yeah.

[00:37:07]You can see this is part of uh the fishing boats that uh we destroyed some few days ago.

[00:37:12]>> So you found these and then you destroyed.

[00:37:14]>> Yeah, we found them. But what they do is uh they pick and hide in the bushes, >> right?

[00:37:19]>> Yeah. After fishing, they pick the boat and hide in the bushes. And when you get it from there, you bring it down here and and destroy it.

[00:37:26]>> How often do you find boats like that?

[00:37:28]Always in our patrols, we always get >> You always get >> Yeah, we always get one, you get two.

[00:37:34]>> Find lots of nets.

[00:37:35]>> Yeah, we also get nets.

[00:37:37]>> Mhm.

[00:37:38]>> And how often will you find animals that may have been killed, whether it's hippos or maybe elephants that have come down to the river?

[00:37:45]>> Once in a while, we come across some of these incidences where they even set the wires for the hippos and they kill hippos.

[00:37:53]>> If they kill a hippo, that's a lot of meat.

[00:37:55]>> That's a lot of meat. How do they get how do they get how do they smuggle this away?

[00:37:58]>> They use the boat.

[00:38:00]>> Okay.

[00:38:01]>> And uh in most cases at times very late at night they try to pass through through the the ferry landing cuz we have our patrols our our guards there who keep monitoring but at times they sneak and pass.

[00:38:15]>> So you'll pass information to the land patrols.

[00:38:18]>> Yeah, we'll pass the information to the land patrols. Okay. [music] >> [music] >> The combating of illegal activities in the parks has become more effective with the UWA destroying numerous traps and wire snares and arresting many poachers.

[00:38:43]While the rangers are doing good work here, I'm eager to find out more. I'm curious to understand the government's input and what results are being achieved.

[00:38:53]I hope to find the answers at base camp where the ranger commander is going to answer some of my questions. [music] [music] >> Hello, Eric. Very good to see you.

[00:39:13]>> I'm okay.

[00:39:14]>> So, Eric, first of all, how big is Merchesen National Park?

[00:39:18]>> Yeah. When we talk of Maxon Falls National Park, first of all, I want to make you understand that Makon Falls protected area is a big area.

[00:39:27]>> Okay.

[00:39:28]>> Like uh we have four protected areas under this same system. So in totality the areas have over 5,000 square kilometers.

[00:39:37]>> That's a huge area. So how many ranges do you have to patrol that whole area?

[00:39:42]Um that one uh roughly about 305.

[00:39:48]>> Mhm. So tell me what sort of training do they have? For me to look at everyone it looks quite militaristic. Is it is it is it almost a military operation here?

[00:39:59]>> Indeed when you look at the history of this country uh that's why you are seeing them they're almost like military and indeed we are paramilitary institution. You know it started way back. We have been in war at several stages and then uh the nature of poaching kept changing from traditional things using spears, arrows to assault rifles. So over time we realized we could not be rudimentary in order to counter ping coming from outside. That is why out of the government now the government realize we need to be fully equipped to be like military. And indeed as I talk now we have really professionalized the the force. Indeed what you have seen is what we are we are equipped to counter what is coming from outside.

[00:40:44]>> Without giving away too much of your surveillance techniques what kind of patrols do you do >> here? We have uh three areas that we do.

[00:40:54]Uh we have land patrol and then we have marine or water patrol because we have a section of river which is about 80 kilometers cutting from the eastern side going west plus the surrounding rivers and legs around and then we have air patrol.

[00:41:09]>> What happens to the ivory or the traps or the materials that you find or or confiscate?

[00:41:14]>> When we are talking of those two things ivory is a little bit different from the traps. traps, wheel traps or even assault rifles, whatever we get in the field, we handle them in a little bit different way and even ivory. But most of them when we [clears throat] get them inside the park here, we confiscate them, arrest the perpetrators, we bring the suspects, we take them to court for prosecution. And then the implements like the wheel traps, the wire snares, all of them, we have a store in the armory where we put them there. And over time, we come to two to three years, we have over about four tons of tons of.

[00:41:52]And I think from here, if you have time, you can have a look at them. you will see what the stock piles we have there.

[00:41:58]>> I think what you're saying the Ugandan government does take this seriously.

[00:42:03]>> Yes. Yes. Yes. Actually, it is uh coming from government saying even at the airport we have a special unit at the airport. You cannot penetrate outside there. We have the ken youth fully and they based in every day they at the airport all points and the the president of this country is excess the president of this country has given for this K9 unit to access all parts of the port in order to try to combat these illegal activities and then there's another we call it a natural resource conservation project which is also doing a lot of work they are like attached okay they work hand in hand with Uganda authority and uh these uh lawyers you find them they're moving and they arresting things like pangoline scales trafficking and the eyeball we are talking about these chameleons and these other unique things they are there they arresting them many of them and we have cases in these other surrounding juris prosecution areas within this area so we have really professionalized the unit okay the security within Uganda wildlife authority for the good of the wildlife and that is why We talk of population uh wildlife population boom in this park.

[00:43:14]Yeah, we are moving on. We are professionalizing these things and I want to see the child I I produce grow and then as I moved out I would love to see it going up and when I talk in my whole age I say yes when you hear that thing don't forget about me my name is there.

[00:43:34]>> So that is what I would >> keep up the good work.

[00:43:36]>> Thank you sir. Welcome.

[00:43:40][music] [music] >> So, Julius, this is what you call the armory. [music] >> Yeah, this is uh the armory where we keep uh exhibits that are recovered from uh poorers.

[00:44:01]>> Are these all traps?

[00:44:02]>> Quite a number of things. Yeah, these are all traps.

[00:44:06]I mean there must be thousands and thousands.

[00:44:08]>> Yes, these are thousands and thousands of traps. Here you can see these are the metal traps. And if you see this side, we have all the snares.

[00:44:15]>> The snares.

[00:44:16]>> This is overwhelming. There's so much stuff. So yes, >> ivory.

[00:44:20]>> Yeah, this how recent was um >> this is uh two weeks ago.

[00:44:25]>> Two weeks ago.

[00:44:26]>> Yeah, two weeks ago. You can see it's still fresh and it's it's it's drying.

[00:44:29]>> And that's an old that's an old elephant.

[00:44:31]>> Is this an old elephant?

[00:44:32]>> How old do you think that would have been? Um, this is an adult. I think it could be about uh 30 to 35 years old.

[00:44:42]>> And do you know how it was killed?

[00:44:44]>> Um, this was uh uh killed as a result of a snare that uh caught uh the the the trunk.

[00:44:55]>> Mhm.

[00:44:55]>> And then uh finally ended up uh killing it. How a poacher, the poacher that killed this elephant, how much might they get for for doing that work?

[00:45:07]>> Uh, locally here, uh, a kilogram of ivory >> goes for between, uh, probably $100.

[00:45:14]>> So, $100 >> and that on the international market, >> that on the international market is going to go for a lot more than that.

[00:45:21]>> It's a lot more. A lot more uh in an in the international market. So like this could be about 30 20 between 27 to 33 kilo kages. I'm just guessing this.

[00:45:34]We've not yet weighed it.

[00:45:35]>> So it's unbelievable.

[00:45:44]>> Pretty sobering really, [music] especially seeing in the armory all of those traps. This is obviously a symbolic burn. It's some fishing nets that they just don't want to recirculate in the community. It's pretty easy for someone to [music] pick up a fishing net. It looks pretty innocuous. The poaching traps in there are a whole different level. Hideous, nasty snares to inflict [music] pain, to in inflict suffering and ultimately death. And to see that huge pile and realize that that is about four years worth from this one region of one country in Africa. [music] Can you imagine if uh if we put all the traps that have been confiscated [music] Africawide together? I think we'd probably fill a couple of football pictures. And those are just the ones that are found. So, it's it's slightly [music] depressing when you see the the the mountain the the the mountain [music] that these guys have to climb, but also it makes me happy to know that there are people like Julius [music] and Eric and and trained people who are who who are fighting this this war. And if what he says that the Ugandan government is taking this seriously enough to be putting money where their mouth is and to be um you know financing 300 [music] rangers like this to do their work then I think we're heading in the right direction.

[00:47:09][music] >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat.

[00:47:39][music] with