Protecting pangolins in Southern Africa

We are delighted to share our latest update from the field. Thanks to your generous support of Pelorus Foundation, we were able to respond quickly to an urgent request for emergency veterinary funding from our local project partner, PCRF.

Rescued pangolins often arrive in critical condition. Many have been trafficked in sacks for days, leaving them severely dehydrated, starving, injured, and highly traumatised. Immediate specialist veterinary care is essential to stabilise them and give them any chance of survival, and without donor support like yours, this level of care simply would not be possible.

Mag’gau is just one example of a pangolin’s rehabilitation, as each is different. Mag’gau required regular tube feeding by a veterinarian after weakness and a case of pneumonia. The dedicated team walked long days and nights searching for ants and termites to encourage natural feeding behaviour and to help re-build her strength for release.

Through dedicated veterinary care and ongoing research, PCRF has helped increase pangolin survival rates from just 40% to over 90% since 2023. Their expertise is now also helping shape Namibia’s first national pangolin welfare guidelines, a major milestone for the long-term protection of this species.

Over the past four years, PCRF have rescued 46 pangolins across Namibia, while continuing to rehabilitate animals, monitor those released back into the wild, and strengthen the systems needed to give rescued pangolins a real chance of survival.

Your support is also helping build long-term conservation capacity. Thanks to your donations, Pelorus Foundation has helped PCRF to expand its local team by supporting the salaries of two Field Officers who are critical to ongoing rescue, monitoring, and protection work.

There is still a long road ahead, but supporters like you are making real progress possible. Your generosity helps rescue pangolins in crisis, improve rehabilitation and release outcomes, strengthen field monitoring, and build the long-term systems needed to protect this extraordinary species.

Thank you for helping give pangolins a fighting chance. Your support has never been more vital.

All photos kindly shared by, and rights of our local project partner PCRF.

Links:

• Protecting Pangolins in Southern Africa
• Killed For Keratin
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I'm delighted to share latest news about the work you are helping to support - protecting critically endangered pangolins in southern Africa.

This period marks the peak season for pangolin trafficking, making the work of our local project partner, PCRF, even more urgent than ever. Against this challenging backdrop, the team has continued to deliver exceptional impact.

Kelsey Prediger, PCRF's Founder was recently nominated for the 2025 Worldwide Vets Golden Award. It is an acknowledgement of her extraordinary dedication, contributing to the rescue and release of 41 pangolins over the last four years.

The local team in Namibia continues to face serious operational hurdles. Illegal hunting activity remains a constant threat, and field teams are still relying on a borrowed vehicle, making transport of rescued pangolins and rapid-response interventions difficult. The need for a  permanent, reliable vehicle to support this frontline work is now vital.

Despite these challenges, the team has delivered powerful capacity-building across the region. A major training workshop was hosted for first responders and game guards, strengthening skills in pangolin rescue, safe transport, and community engagement, particularly addressing ongoing issues such as inappropriate emergency feeding (e.g., rice or cat food). Nationwide, over 350 officers across 42 Namibian villages have now been trained, alongside the milestone achievement of training Botswana’s first pangolin ecologist. This growing network of skilled responders is transforming pangolin protection across Southern Africa.

A recent release in mid-October demonstrated why such expertise matters: a rescued pangolin began losing weight after struggling to forage, and the team had to intervene quickly to bring it back for monitoring and support.

Awareness and storytelling have also taken an important step forward. Guardians of Eden, a beautiful new documentary following rescued pangolin Matabe’s Journey, features Kelsey and lead Pangolin Guardian Oma Sao, shining a light on the realities of this work and the people who make it possible.

Finally, the project has now been formally included in the Southern African Regional Pangolin Conservation Action Plan (SARPCAP), a significant recognition of the team’s leadership and impact in pangolin conservation.

Thanks to supporters like you, this essential work continues to protect the world’s most trafficked mammal at a time when it is needed most.