A mother White-bellied tree pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis) nursing her two day old baby.
“When someone unexpectedly hands you a pangolin in a woven plastic sac, what do you do? I was not expecting this, not right now. This poor girl was about to be delivered to a Chinese restaurant (who would have eaten it). A moment later, another bag was produced. It turns out she gave birth to a male offspring, the previous night, within the sac!!! The baby was being kept in a small bag, separate from the mother and near death. I had no hope for them, but I tried anyway.
The baby was given fluids and milk via a stomach tube and seems to have recovered. He even started nursing for the first time! The mother was given LRS via subcutaneous injection and will be given food tonight. She already looks better.
If EVERYTHING works out perfectly, they will be released in a few weeks and they’ll continue on their journey. Fingers crossed! I think there might be a small chance.”
This is a personal journal entry from a couple months ago when I was traveling in West Africa researching the trade in pangolins. Both her and her baby died a couple days after this photo was taken from suspected organ failure, after seemingly bouncing back for a couple days. Just heart breaking. This job can be frustrating in SO many ways.